By Mike Carter

SEATTLE, WA – Two people were killed and five others hurt — including two others with gunshot wounds — in an after-hours shooting at a Skyway motorcycle  club early Sunday, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office and  media reports.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Abbott said two men, ages 24 and 36, were killed in a wild  shootout in which the victims were driven from the scene in private cars before deputies arrived to find a parking lot strewn with shell casings. One of the victims, the 24 year old, died in the parking lot of a nearby McDonald’s, where medics tried to save him. Abbott  said the driver of the car and another passenger were so traumatized by the incident they had to be hospitalized, as well.

The other victim, a 36 year old man, was driven by private car to Valley Medical Center, where he died, Abbott  said.

Two other people at the party suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds and a third individual suffered minor injuries when he crashed his car as he sped away from the scene, Abbott said.

The Sheriff’s Office said the shooting occurred in a parking lot shared by the Skyway VFW Club and the Family Motorcycle Club about 4 a.m. in the 12600 block of Renton Avenue South.  The initial calls were that there was a large fight, followed shortly thereafter by several 911 reports of gunfire. The Renton Patch reported the parking lot is the frequent site of after-hours parties.

Abbott said the sheriff’s office has responded to the club previously, but did not have details of those interactions. “I heard some deputies talking about it. We’ve been there before,” he said.

A neighbor who asked to remain anonymous because he feared for his safety said parties on Saturday night into Sunday morning have been a frequent and disruptive occurrence. There have  been times, he said, when the entire parking lot has been filled with people, motorcycles and cars usually starting around 2 a.m. when the bars close.

“It happens most every Sunday morning,” he said.  The neighbor said he was jolted out of sleep Sunday by the gunshots.

Sheriff’s detectives were interviewing numerous witnesses and trying to sort out the crime scenes Sunday morning, Abbott said. No arrests have been made.

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