Expectant mom shot in back, 2nd woman shot in foot in White Center

SEATTLE -- Two women, including one who is pregnant, were wounded in a shooting in the White Center neighborhood south of Seattle Monday night.

The women were with a group lighting off fireworks near S. 112th Street and 1st Ave. S. around 11:30 p.m. when they noticed a car driving erratically, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

When the car stopped, a man from the group lighting fireworks went over to the woman driving the car, yelling at her to stop driving recklessly, investigators said.

At that point, a fight broke out between the man and two women inside the car, and shots rang out, wounding two women who had been with the outside group.

"What people tell us is it was kind of chaotic," said Sgt. Cindi West with the King County Sheriff's Office. "There were fireworks going off all over the place so nobody really realized anybody had been shot until the women basically said I've been shot or something's wrong, I need help."

The 24-year-old pregnant woman was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where she was listed in serious but stable condition. West said the baby is expected to survive. A second victim, the pregnant woman's 46-year-old mother, was taken to Highline Medical Center in Burien after she was shot in the foot.

Investigators say it's unclear whether the shots originated from the car.

"We don't know where the shots came from," West said. "We don't know if it had anything to do with a disturbance. We haven't been able to contact the two women driving the vehicle yet so we don't know if they're witnesses or if they're suspects."

West said the only description available is the car, which was described as a white, older model sedan.

"The car came down [the street] and went back. They kicked the car, and then we heard a lady screaming," said Michael Anderson, a witness. "Next thing you know, we just heard gunshots. It seemed like 6-8 of them."

"I tried to grab my daughter and grandson," Anderson continued. "We left our fireworks and tried to run to the house."

Detectives are asking for anyone with information to call the King County Sheriff's Office at 206-296-3311.

"In a normal case, you hear a gunshot, you might look what's happening," West said. "But in this case there were fireworks that were going off all over the place, so nobody really realized the shots had been fired. So it kind of hampered our investigation in the sense where we don't really have any good witnesses that really saw anything."