Seattle police say man drove car into protesters, shot demonstrator

Seattle police said an armed man drove into a crowd peacefully protesting the police killing of George Floyd and shot at least one person late Sunday.

The victim, a 27-year-old man, is in stable condition at a local hospital, while the gunman is in police custody, according to The Seattle Times.

The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of 11th Avenue and Pine Street, with the driver apparently firing while he was still inside the car. As demonstrators realized the car did not intend to stop, several ran alongside it and attempted to obstruct it with a metal panel from a police barricade.

“I thought he was plowing right into the crowd,” B.J. Hayes, who has attended several recent protests in the city, told the Times.  “I totally thought I was going to see a bunch of bodies flying through the air.”

Witnesses said the man fired the shot after the victim reached into the open driver’s side window, falling down as the gunman stepped out of the vehicle.

Fellow protesters immediately attended to the victim, with one applying a tourniquet to his arm and volunteer medics walking him to an ambulance. Protester Matt McAlman told the Times that his bandmates asked the man if he was going to be OK. In response, the man raised a fist in the air.

“I heard the gunshot go off in my arm. My whole thing was to protect those people down there,” the victim said as he left the scene, according to video recorded by local journalist Alex Garland.

Story unclear at the moment but young man shot on 11th and Pine. Daniel, 26, wanted to tell his story. With the help of other medics I got a tourniquet on his arm. Street medics were on the spot with gauze and pressure. He walked off the scene. pic.twitter.com/g9Ism58YkF

— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) June 8, 2020

No other injuries were reported, according to KING-TV in Seattle.

Updated at 7:47 a.m.