Spate of shootings across Seattle kill four

Seattle police seen through an ally area at the scene of a shooting in the Pioneer Square neighborhood, Sunday July 25, 2021, in Seattle. Unrelated shootings Sunday morning occurred in the Belltown, Pioneer Square, Chinatown International District and Capitol Hill neighborhoods.

SEATTLE -

Authorities in Seattle are investigating the fatal shooting of a man in the Lake City neighborhood on Sunday -- the fourth gun homicide in the city in 24 hours.

Seattle police spokesperson Valerie Carson said witnesses saw the victim returning to his apartment when a vehicle pulled up and multiple people opened fire.

The Seattle Times reports that earlier Sunday, shootings over a span of three hours in four Seattle neighborhoods left three dead and five injured.

The shootings continue an ongoing uptick in gun violence that's already killed or wounded more than 200 people in King County so far this year. The unrelated shootings Sunday morning occurred in the Belltown, Pioneer Square, Chinatown International District and Capitol Hill neighborhoods.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said in a statement that Sunday's shootings were part of a national epidemic that saw more than 900 shootings in cities across the country just last week.