.jpg)
Thousands of visitors were enjoying the last day of Bite of Seattle food festival at the Seattle Centre at the time of the shooting.
Videos show crowds jumping over fences when the gunshots rang out and taking cover in the Space Needle's lobby.
The Pacific Science Center, which is at the south end of the Seattle Centre, will be closed on Monday.In a post on Instagram, it said all shows and general admissions for the day will be cancelled, with guests automatically refunded.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said one suspect has been taken into custody following the incident in a popular tourist district in the northwestern US city. Wilson had initially said two were in custody.Fire department officials confirmed that two people died, according to NBC News and CNN.
Seattle police said there were “multiple shooting victims” near the Space Needle observation tower.“Shots fired at the Seattle Centre,” police said in an X post.
Wilson said in a statement that she wanted to “thank the Seattle police officers who responded to the scene and took a suspect into custody”.
Four patients were being treated at the trauma centre facility at Harborview Medical Centre, according to spokesperson Susan Gregg: a child, a woman of unknown age who was in surgery, a 23-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman.
“There was information at the scene, they weren’t sure if there was more than one shooter,” Gregg said, saying police would provide more details.
The shooting took place during the “Bite of Seattle” summer festival celebrating local businesses and food vendors.
A Seattle Times reporter heard several loud pops and what sounded like very rapid gunfire.
A shooting at Seattle's annual food festival Bite of Seattle occurred around 18:00 local time, with police reporting "multiple shooting victims"
Witnesses said they heard loud pops of rapid gunfire before fleeing and taking cover, some describing the scene as "pure chaos" and "mayhem"
Seattle's Fire Department confirmed two people died at the scene and five others were injured, with four transported to hospital including a two-year-old boy
Mayor Katie Wilson said one suspect is in custody in connection with the shooting, after initially saying two people were taken into custody, but did not provide further details
A police investigation is ongoing and the public has been urged to avoid the area near the Seattle Center
Representatives for Seattle and Washington state have condemned the shooting as an act of "senseless violence"