2012 Seattle café shooting

Spree shooting in Washington, U.S. December 2025 February 2013 Café Racer, Seattle.jpg Exterior of Café Racer Seattle, Washington, U.S. 2012 05 30 10:57 a.m.Spangenthal Jonah https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2012/05/30/roosevelt-homicide-suspect-identified/ Detectives Obtain Photos of North Seattle Homicide Suspect Spdblotter.seattle.gov 2012-05-30 2016-06-02 PDT Spree shooting mass shooting murder–suicide mass murder 6 (including the perpetrator) 1 Ian Lee Stawicki Rage .45 caliber Remington 1911 R1 semi-automatic pistol .45 caliber Colt New Agent Series 90 semi-automatic pistol On May 30, 2012, a spree shooting occurred at two locations in Seattle, Washington, United States. The shootings began with a mass shooting at Café Racer, resulting in the deaths of four patrons and injuring a fifth. Another woman was killed during a carjacking. The perpetrator, Ian Lee Stawicki, committed suicide the same day.https://abcnews.go.com/US/ian-stawicki-seattle-cafe-racer-shooter-kills-shoots-citywide/story?id=16463885 Ian Stawicki: Seattle Cafe Racer Shooter Kills 5, Shoots Himself After Citywide Manhunt ABC News May 31, 2012 June 2, 2016 Shootings On May 30, 2012, just before 11:00 a.m., Stawicki walked into Café Racer in the University District of Seattle, Washington. The staff there recognized him from previously being thrown out, and reminded him of that. Stawicki lingered for a bit, and then walked near the door. He pulled one of his two pistols, both .45-caliber handguns, and shot his first victim in the back of the head. The man's body blocked the door, taking away an escape route. One man threw a bar stool and used a second to separate himself from Stawicki. The distraction allowed two or three people to escape through the door the shooter had blocked. Stawicki then went near the bar and shot the others execution-style, police say. As he left, Stawicki took a hat from one of the victims.http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Police-Seattle-shootings-were-like-an-execution-3599900.php Police: Seattle shootings were like an execution Seattle Post-Intelligencer June 2, 2012 June 2, 2016 Stawicki killed a total of four patrons at the café and wounded the café's chef. Seattle shootings: day of horror, grief in a shaken city The Seattle Times May 31, 2012 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-shootings-day-of-horror-grief-in-a-shaken-city/ June 2, 2012 Half an hour later, he killed a woman in a parking lot next to Town Hall Seattle on First Hill while carjacking her black Mercedes-Benz SUV. Later that afternoon just before 4:00 p.m., he died by suicide on a sidewalk in West Seattle as police closed in.https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/30/us/washington-cafe-shooting/index.html Seattle shootings suspect shoots himself, police say CNN May 30, 2012 The perpetrator previously owned six handguns (three 9mm handguns and three .45-caliber handguns), including the Remington 1911 R1 pistol he used in the shootings. As a result of the shootings, several schools, including Roosevelt High School and Nathan Eckstein Middle School, were put on lockdown for student safety. Perpetrator Ian Lee Stawicki (September 16, 1971 – May 30, 2012) was the sole perpetrator of the shooting. Stawicki had prior contacts with police but a relatively short record. Police say he had charges for domestic violence interference, fourth-degree assault, malicious mischief, and a 1989 charge for unlawfully carrying a weapon. However, court records show only a 1995 case for driving with a suspended license, which resulted in an adverse finding.January 2022 During the February 2008 case, police officers were called to the Magnolia home of Stawicki and his then-girlfriend to find the victim with a bloody nose and crying. She told police that he had struck her and destroyed several of her belongings, and that in recent months, he had begun breaking things and flying into rages, according to the police report. Stawicki's father, Walt Stawicki, described his son as a very private person who was "disgruntled" and had been a frequent customer of the coffee shop where his rampage began. Victims thumb|Joseph Albanese thumb|Andrew Keriakedes Dead Joseph "Meshuguna Joe" Albanese (bassist of the band "MIGHTY SPHINCTER" and latterly a key member of Circus Contraption), 52, at Café RacerKirk Johnson https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/us/wave-of-gun-violence-challenges-seattles-notion-of-security.html Gun Violence Wave Challenges Seattle's Notion of Security June 2, 2012 The New York Times June 10, 2012 Andrew "Schmootzi the Clod" Keriakedes (also a member of Circus Contraption), 49, at Café Racer Kimberly Lynn Layfield, 36, at Café Racer Donald Largen, 57, at Café Racer Gloria Leonidas, 52, on First Hill Injured Leonard Meuse, 46, at Café Racerhttp://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo/article/Sole-survivor-of-cafe-massacre-released-from-the-3623361.php Sole survivor of cafe massacre released from the hospital Seattle Post-Intelligencer June 10, 2012 June 2, 2016 Aftermath Café Racer had a somewhat rocky history after the incident, opening and closing at least twice over the next eight years, before definitively closing during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In its final closing in August 2020, owner Jeff Ramsey announced that the name would live on as a free online music station featuring "music from Washington and primarily Seattle."https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/u-districts-iconic-cafe-racer-closes-but-finds-new-life-as-online-radio-station/ar-BB17XZkC MSN News Gabe Guarente U District's Iconic Cafe Racer Closes, But Finds New Life As Online Radio Station August 15, 2020 August 15, 2020 The online music station is Café Racer Radio at https://caferacerradio.com/. In 2021, Café Racer reopened in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.Smith Owen 2021-06-08 Seattle's Cafe Racer finds a new home on Capitol Hill https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/seattles-cafe-racer-finds-a-new-home-on-capitol-hill/ 2022-02-17 The Seattle Times en-US Café Racer closed permanently on June 30, 2024, with the owners promising to shift their focus to nonprofit outreach efforts aimed at promoting growth and opportunities for young artists.Nelson Jim June 19, 2024 Iconic Cafe Racer closing Capitol Hill music venue to focus on community outreach https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/iconic-cafe-racer-closing-capitol-hill-music-venue-community-outreach/281-88888ab9-675b-4c42-87d3-7dfc0a6a749b May 24, 2026 KING-TV Trivia The Westboro Baptist Church threatened to protest at one of the victims funerals.2012-06-05 Westboro Baptist Church to picket Seattle shooting victim’s funeral https://www.knkx.org/other-news/2012-06-05/westboro-baptist-church-to-picket-seattle-shooting-victims-funeral 2025-01-15 KNKX Public Radio en In the media The shooting is chronicled by Stawicki's father in the Discovery television program Evil Lives Here, the 5th episode of the 5th season entitled "He's Still My Son".https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9090366/ 'Evil Lives Here': He's Still My Son (TV Episode 2019) IMDb See also Columbus nightclub shooting, another mass shooting which killed a musical performer (Dimebag Darrell) Crime in Washington (state) 2009 Lakewood shooting, another mass shooting at a coffee shop in Washington state Capitol Hill massacre, another mass shooting in Seattle List of mass shootings in the United States in the 2010s References 47 40 17 N 122 19 02 W dms title type:landmark_region:US-WA Category:Murder–suicides in Washington (state) Category:2012 mass murders Category:Murder in Washington (state) Category:2012 murders in the United States Category:2012 in Washington (state) Category:2012 in Seattle Category:2012 mass shootings in the United States Category:2010s mass murders in the United States Category:Spree shootings in the United States Category:Hijackings in North America Category:Hijackings in the 2010s Category:May 2012 crimes in the United States Category:Mass shootings in Washington (state) Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 2012 Category:Attacks on coffeehouses and cafés in the United States Category:2012 road incidents Category:2010s road incidents in North America Category:Road incidents in the United States