Teens Arrested for Shooting That Killed 2 and Wounded 3 at Seattle's Homeless 'Jungle'

A week after two people were killed and three wounded in a shooting at a Seattle homeless encampment known as "the Jungle," police arrested three teenage boys — ages 13, 16, and 17 — who were allegedly responsible for the deadly attack.

The shooting occurred on the night of January 26 at the Jungle, a ramshackle collection of hovels in a wooded stretch next to Interstate 5 south of the city's downtown. Witnesses told the Seattle Times that a group of gunmen — described as "Samoan men wearing masks and leather" — approached several homeless people gathered around a campfire and confronted a man nicknamed "Fats" before opening fire.

A 33-year-old man and 45-year-old woman died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen and back. A man and two women were wounded and remain hospitalized with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

Seattle police said the three teens were taken into custody on Monday night at a different homeless encampment and a gun was recovered. They were booked into a jail for minors and face possible murder charges. The names of the suspects have not been released, and it's unclear if they were homeless. Police said they believed the victims were targeted over drugs, and that two firearms were involved.

"This violent crime shocked Seattle. Thank you to the team at the Seattle Police Department for your professionalism in pursuit of this investigation, resulting in these three arrests," Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said in a written statement. "Our homicide investigators worked tirelessly to pursue leads and track down these suspects. We are also grateful for the efforts of our partners from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies."

Related: Seattle Is Helping Drug Addicts Instead of Locking Them Up — and So Far It's Working

The Jungle has existed for decades in Seattle and is a notorious hub for drugs and crime in the city. Serial killer DeWayne Lee Harris, nicknamed "Chilly Willy," killed three women who lived in the Jungle in the late 1990s before he was caught and convicted.

Despite repeated efforts to clean up the area and improve conditions. Murray recently described the situation at the encampment as "unmanageable and out of control for almost two decades."

"You have overdoses and things the police won't even deal with," Mark Combs, 54, a recent resident of the Jungle, told the Seattle Times after the recent shooting. "The police wouldn't even come up in there until it was an overdose, or a shooting or, a stabbing."

Seattle, like other West Coast cities including Portland and Los Angeles, has been struggling with a ballooning homeless problem and growing illegal encampments across the city. Residents of some upscale and middle-class Seattle neighborhoods have recently complained of "blatant lawlessness," including burglaries, thefts, and illegal drug use, linked to the homelessness problem.

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