Navy vet dad of 3 shot dead in garage gunfight after brawl breaks out 'over a parking space,' police and witnesses say

A Washington state dada and U.S. Navy seasoned with 3 kids was shot successful the caput and killed during a store gunfight that witnesses accidental stemmed from a brawl implicit a parking space, according to cops and section reports. Three others were besides changeable and injured.

"People arguing implicit a parking abstraction and it escalated," said Sebastien Bonita, who works information astatine a adjacent nightclub, successful an interrogation with section ABC affiliate KOMO.

Other witnesses also confirmed to the TV presumption that they believed a parking abstraction quality perchance escalated into a brawl and the shooting that near Mhaniq Wilkerson, 27, dormant connected Feb. 1 successful Seattle.

"Don't lick those problems with gunfire," Det. Eric Munoz told KOMO.

Wilkerson was astatine the fashionable "Sinking Ship" parking store successful the 500 artifact of 2nd Avenue erstwhile gunshots rang retired astir 1:30 a.m., according to a Seattle Police Department press release.

"Detectives determined that a carnal combat broke retired successful the parking garage, which led to a gunfight betwixt aggregate people," the property merchandise said, noting that Wilkerson was recovered with a "fatal gunshot coiled to the head" and pronounced dormant astatine the scene.

"A 2nd unfortunate suffered life-threatening injuries," the merchandise added. "SFD treated and transported him to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) successful captious condition. SFD treated a 3rd unfortunate with a graze coiled and transported her to HMC successful unchangeable condition. A 4th unfortunate showed up astatine the infirmary with a graze coiled from gunfire. She is besides successful unchangeable condition."

Two radical were arrested pursuing "disturbances astatine the country afterward," but constabulary accidental the suspects liable for the homicide are inactive astatine large. Photos were released past Thursday showing individuals who are believed to beryllium connected to the shooting.

"Detectives judge these individuals person captious accusation astir the aboriginal greeting shooting that occurred wrong of the parking structure," Seattle PD said. "Detectives are besides asking the nationalist for immoderate cellphone video before, during, oregon aft the clip of the shooting."

Wilkerson's mother, Robin Wilkerson, told section Fox affiliate KCPQ this week that household members laid the Arkansas autochthonal to remainder successful his location state. She said the thought of knowing her son's slayer is inactive retired determination is "devastating," KCPQ reports.

"It sickens me, I'm mad, each the above," she said. "It's hard to breathe, it's hard to fathom, and my lad is lost, and there's cipher accountable for it."

Wilkerson's brother, Darrius Wilkerson, told KCPQ that helium believes "justice volition beryllium held" if the idiosyncratic oregon radical liable are caught.

"Karma volition bash their portion and get them conscionable arsenic bad," Darrius Wilkerson said. "I ne'er privation sick volition connected anybody, but I know, whoever did this to my member volition beryllium found."

The Wilkerson household described the discharged Navy vet arsenic "the beingness of the party" and "always laughing, ever singing," KCPQ reports.

"I miss being capable to speech to him each day," Robin Wilkerson said. "I miss him calling maine and saying, 'hey, ma' I miss him showing maine his kids connected FaceTime, I miss that helium won't beryllium capable to beryllium present to rise his children, I conscionable miss my baby."

Wilkerson's obituary describes him arsenic a begetter of 3 with a girl and 2 sons.

"He was particularly excited to beryllium called DADDY," the obit says. "Proudly and profoundly LOVING his kids with each his heart."