#One killed, another injured during shooting inside Seattle’s cop-free zone

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Barricades erected by the city several days ago divide up the CHOP zone in Seattle, Washington.
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One person was killed and another injured when a shooting erupted in Seattle’s autonomous zone early Saturday, and police are now inside the “no-cop” zone investigating, according to reports.

Seattle police remained Saturday afternoon in the so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, gathering spent shell casings and assembled in riot gear at the border, Newsweek reported.

There were conflicting reports on whether police and fire department were allowed into the zone, with some reports saying that police encountered hostile crowds after a large group assembled on the edge of the protest zone to secure the victim. But both victims had been driven by private vehicles to a local hospital, according to a blog post.

Videos recorded inside CHAZ showed volunteers scrambling to help the victims.

Police confirmed the shooting in a Twitter post Saturday, but offered no additional details.

Two gunshot victims were treated at Harborview Medical Center, spokeswoman Susan Gregg told the Seattle Times.

One died, she said, and the other was in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit.

A security employee working in the area reported seeing the shooter arrive in a black SUV and a 911 caller told police a man left the vehicle toting a rifle in the early morning hours at the end of Juneteenth celebrations, according to a local blog post.

Seattle police had abandoned the six-block area following the torching of the East Precinct on June 8, following the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police.