SEATTLE — The violence that erupted during a gathering at a Bellevue apartment complex and ended with two people dead and two injured began with a dispute between a 41-year-old guest at the party and his 22-year-old relative, police said Sunday.
At a news conference, Bellevue Police Chief Steve Mylett said the 41-year-old Burien man had stabbed three people Saturday at the party — including his relative, who was the host — in her third-floor apartment before another guest who was stabbed in the neck drew a gun and opened fire.
The 41-year-old man died from the gunshot wound, while a 21-year-old man from Renton, who was among those stabbed, also died.
Both the 22-year-old resident of the apartment and the 24-year-old man who fired his weapon were hospitalized for their injuries, which have been described as not life-threatening.
Mylett did not release names of any of those involved, saying investigators were still evaluating the crime scene as they try to determine what led up to the violence as well as a motive.
“It is a shock,” Mylett said. “The only thing we can do is figure out exactly what happened.”
The violence and crime scene were contained to the third-floor area of a building that is part of the Element Apartments, a three-tower luxury complex, he said.
Everyone involved knew each other and had been invited to the party or was a resident, Mylett said. It was not known how large the gathering had been.
Bellevue police officers and the Bellevue Fire Department responded to frantic calls around 7:30 p.m. reporting shots fired and a possible stabbing.
The 24-year-old man with stab wounds was taken to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman said his wounds were not life-threatening. Mylett said he had undergone surgery for his injuries.
The 22-year-old host’s injuries were treated at Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue, and she had been released from the hospital, Mylett said.
Miranda Rogers, who lives in another tower in the Elements Apartments, described the complex as quiet, where “something like this happening is pretty rare.” Her neighbors have always been pleasant, she added.
“I think this is just a really unfortunate event that happened among a group of friends,” she said.
