SPEAKER_01 0:00

Come on. Hey guys, welcome back. Uh today we are going to talk about something that is unfortunate. Uh there was a shooting, um, a mass shooting at the Bight of Seattle, which is a festival that Seattle holds every year. Uh, this just happened less than 24 hours ago, uh, 6 p.m. Sunday, which was yesterday. Um, gunfire erupted at the Seattle Center uh during the food festival. And um, we'd like to show you a quick clip of what's happened.

SPEAKER_03 0:39

Oh my god. Overnight, a frightening scene in Seattle near the city's iconic space needle. A gunman opening fire Sunday evening, killing three people and injuring four others. The moment of the shooting captured in this live stream video.

SPEAKER_05 0:55

Get down, get on, get down, get on. I'm being told that the suspect may have an automatic weapon.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

What happened here today at the Seattle Center was an unbelievable tragedy, a horrific act of violence.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

Police say just after 6 p.m., fire crews responded to reports of a shooting during the Bite of Seattle Food Festival at Seattle Center.

SPEAKER_05 1:15

Anyone have a small child tourniquet size? Small child barn tourniquet.

SPEAKER_03 1:21

Vendors set up and families enjoying the evening when gunfire sent crowds running for cover. People sheltering inside of buildings around Seattle Center.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

We were trying to run away, you know, once we heard the shots. I everybody kind of just started panicking.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

First responders rushing to the festival, attempting to revive two of the people who were shot. Both of those victims ultimately declared dead on scene. Four other people, including a two-year-old, were transported by firefighters to a local hospital after sustaining injuries. One of them later died. One suspect has been taken into custody. This video appearing to show that arrest. Police say another suspect is still on the loose.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Yeah, so guys, again, this is the worst possible outcome or fear that we have as we are with families enjoying just a peaceful Sunday, um, a fun, you know, festival environment. And then all you know, people think it's fireworks and it's gunfire. Three people passed away, and four others were injured, including a two-year-old kid who was shot in the arm. I mean, listening to the you know, the first responders or whoever talking about needing a tourniquet for a baby, I mean, that's I don't know, it just makes me upset to even think about it. But uh, Peter, what are your thoughts on this and uh what have you heard?

SPEAKER_04 2:59

Yeah, for those of you guys who don't know, the Bind of Seattle is a very important and precious event for us. It's something that Seattle lights do and Washingtonians uh like to go to almost every single year. It's just a bunch of different restaurants, and you know, it's fun. There's tons of kids, tons of people um, you know, out there, and um, it's always just a good time. Now, um, and I think John, you were planning on going there, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:27

I I seriously thought about it. And the reason why I did not go was because you know, I had something else, but I was literally thinking about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:37

I have a two-year-old. To think that someone that something could have happened to my two-year-old, I mean, it would just it you don't, as a parent, you don't even want to think about it. It's like the worst thing. Uh, I I learned about it because I actually um one of my uh he was an old boss of mine. Uh his kid, whom I've met multiple times, uh, was out there during that time. And so he immediately called and you know found out that that he was okay. But man, what if it was your kid, right? Or what if it was your two-year-old, or what about the three other people who actually died? So horrible, horrible stuff. Um, I feel like we're so desensitized because you know this stuff happens way more often than it should. Um, but it hits home because it is home, right? And we're just trying to figure out what's going on, why is this happening? Yeah, what about you?

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Yeah, I saw the same post. Uh, we both know this person. Uh he's a great individual. I won't mention his name, but um, I saw his post and I was reading, and the words that were said on that post indicated that the sun was a hundred feet away from this event. And I was reading this thing, and I'm like I was getting stressed out, and then um luckily nothing happened to him and you know, many others, but except the unfortunate um, you know, for the the three people or seven people that were injured and or passed away. Um, it's devastating news. Um, I think it definitely has a mass effect on the psychology of the people. Um, there's an app, I think it's called Next Door, where I was signed on to it um because I was doing a trial and it's about neighbors talking about neighborhood stuff. And every time a firecracker or fireworks goes off, everybody's like, was that a gunshot? You know, and it's like it's kind of on the back of your minds. Um, there was actually a recent um drive-by shooting in our community, uh, in Everett or Moncotteo, I think last year, if you remember. And, you know, Peter, how do you think this really affects people? I mean, do you think about this as your is this on the back of your mind? You know, is this affecting where you might want to actually visit in Seattle?

SPEAKER_04 6:07

You know, this is one of the reasons why. And I know we we don't have the in our podcast, someone just mentioned this to me the other day. Um, and I didn't even realize they watched this podcast. He might be watching now, but you know, it's um we don't have the best light of Seattle. Uh, and that's just an honest take, right? Um, we don't really go there very often. I don't know about you, but I know a lot of people don't go to Seattle very often. If they are going to go somewhere, they go to Bellevue and they go to the east side. So remember, guys, Seattle is not just Seattle's massive, right? So there's a greater Seattle, and a lot of people go to the east side because it's just way safer there. Um, but Seattle itself, I mean, you walk around and it's it's like what you would imagine. You go around, there's people shooting up, there's homeless people everywhere. There's um, I mean, you hear about stabbings that have have happened, random ones. Like you're like it's not even this is not even like a premeditated, it's just random stabbings. Um, and it doesn't make you want to go there. And uh, and this is why, yeah, like it's Seattle really is just struggling with uh so much crime, and um, it's just not the prettiest place to go. Uh, it doesn't feel safe. And this is just another indication um that you know something needs to change. There's something going on, and something needs to change because we can't afford things like this. People are not the buy to Seattle, it's a massive, massive event for a lot of vendors for people. Um, it's a massive event for us, and we cannot, this is not the first time this has happened in the Bide of Seattle, and so we have to take care of this, or else Seattle's surely gonna lose. It's people are just not gonna go, right? Especially people with families.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

I mean, another story that I'll share is um, I mean, we just talked about it this morning, but I was at so this was when my oldest was like four or five. I don't think my second was born yet, but I think he was like four or five. You know, I was having a little daddy play date, uh, took him to Seattle. Because to me, for people who are watching, I'm I'm I wasn't born here. I was born in Hawaii, and to me, Seattle still has that big city aura charm, you know. I remember when I got here in 2008, uh when we had Snow Mageddon that year, uh, came from Hawaii and experienced Seattle to its fullest. But I remember taking the bus, you know, because I didn't have a car, I couldn't afford anything, I had no job. I remember going into uh Seattle and feeling like, man, I kind of made it. Like I came out here, you know, I'm in a big city and I went to the library. You know, we have one of the biggest libraries and it's like architecturally renowned and all this stuff. And I still remember that feeling, and then now I go back, you know, whether it's due to whatever reason. But long story short, me and my son, we were in uh very close to a place called Pike Place, which is the famous market where they throw the fishes, and if you Google it, it's everywhere. And I remember going into this Irish cafe or restaurant, I can't remember the name, but it was an Irish place. We went in there to get some food. We left. I think it was like 12 p.m. on a Sunday, and that night I remember seeing an article saying that there was a shooting right outside that restaurant that I was at with my son, and it was like two hours after we had left, and I remember that sending chills down my spine because it's like I was literally there, literally walked out that door with my kid, you know, and it's something that makes me uh definitely be on edge. Um, I think as dads, we are already paranoid about public situations. I know I am whenever I go into a restaurant or movie theater, I'm like, okay, what are my exits? Like, what could happen, you know? But it's just a really, really, really unfortunate situation that I hope um won't happen again. But why do you think this is happening? Like, why do you think it's it's the media uh like like what do you think is actually happening to cause this to be more prevalent? Because it's not just us in this state.

SPEAKER_04 10:43

Yeah, there's a few things I want to I want to talk about. First of all, I want to know about the facts. Like, what do we know about the situation? Um, why do I feel like this is happening? I mean, well, one of the facts are that the one of the people who were caught uh or who were detained were was 15 years old. He's not even 18. He's a 15-year-old. Um, the other person is on the loose right now, it hasn't even been caught. And so keep that in mind, guys. Like it's that's scary. Like people who'd be willing to open fire in in out there, um they're still out there from okay. So of so this is what the police is suggesting that could be, but they're saying that investigation points to two individuals firing at each other uh with festival attendees not believed. So it wasn't like they were just shooting at the public, they were actually trying to fire at each other. I would assume that if they were shooting at the public, um, with how many rounds that were shot, that you know, it would be a lot, lot worse. A lot more people would have been been killed. Um, so to answer your question, okay, you have uh maybe two young people who are firing at each other. Uh what, you know, what would cause that? Well, I mean, first of all, I I just feel like Seattle is a very um, you know, just a disturbed place. You know, there's a lot of troubled kids. Um and I do feel like I feel like the Seattle Police Department, they're they're doing their best. And I I don't want to, you know, knock on them. You know, I you know, they're doing their best to try to reduce the crime. And I believe uh crime has been reduced in the past uh couple of years, um, based off what the data is showing. Now, I don't know if that data is true or not, but um, you know, you're it's always like these young kids that are just disturbed that are are acting out. Could there be a problem with uh guns, right? Um, I don't know your stance on you know, you know, gun gun control, but you know, should we not should we make it illegal to have guns? And I actually don't know where I am with that. Uh, I have a lot of people who are very pro-gun. Uh, I have a lot of people who are very anti-gun. Um, one of the things that I think about often when situations like this arise, uh, I think about Korea. And the reason why is because you go out there and first of all, there's like no theft in Korea. Um, that's not an exaggeration. Like, people, like if you go to the library, uh, they actually leave their things. Like, I'm talking valuable laptops, I'm talking their wallets. Like it's a very well-known thing that people in Korea just don't steal from each other. The other thing is that Korea doesn't have guns, right? Um, the only people who have guns, I think, are maybe the police. Uh, and even then, they have like rubber bullets. But I I I don't know for sure, but I I know having a gun is illegal in Korea. And as much as you're like, well, gun rights, you know, everyone should have the right to bear arms. Um, I totally get that. I'm actually, you know, listen, I have a I have firearms, okay? So uh yet, man, I do see the appeal of not having guns because you know it's nice to not to know that someone's you know, people can still stab, but you know, people won't shoot you, you know, and you can cause so much destruction with guns. So could it be a gun problem? Is there a media problem? Absolutely, 100%. You know, um games are very violent right now, like there's so many gun games, they're very violent. They probably are are affecting uh these kids to to to shoot, also with movies, etc. etc. So I think I think those are a part uh of it all. But what do you think? I mean, why do you think this is happening?

SPEAKER_01 14:41

So um I'll bring a couple of points up that I was thinking about as you were talking. What is interesting about so I'll talk about Korea and then I'll talk about Switzerland. So, first of all, I think Korea or places like Korea are it's a cultural difference. Um, we I guess I'm speaking as a Korean because I did come from Korea and I know you know I visit like you do. It Korean people have like a Confucianist background. We have a lot of hierarchy in terms of how we relate to each other and how we show respect for one another. Uh, we're very focused on the group, not the individual, right? It's kind of an Asian thing, a Confucian thing. Uh, like the Japanese people to sidestep, you know, they were known for cleaning up after themselves at the world uh at the World Cup, right? And they will there were like headlines about it. That's a cultural thing, right? They actually brought blue plastic bags to use as cheering whatever things to make noise, and then they use those bags to clean up after them. Who does that, right? Um, I think Korea to go back to Korea. We uh also have a mandatory military service for young men as soon as they turn 18. So they go to the military, stay for one and a half to two and a half years, depending on you know if you're doing infantry or intelligence or whatever, Air Force, Marines, whatever it is. And I do believe that raises the standard of conduct amongst people, especially men, because all the men have to, unless there's a medical thing, uh, you know, you have to, it's it's mandatory service. So I think that coupled with the Confucian culture and the respect um and social policies, I think that so it's like you know how to be in war, and you know, and you're exposed to a higher level of you know morals and scrutiny, and I think that might be a reason why it's you know, crime is just less prevalent in places like Korea. One more place would be Switzerland. So Switzerland is is has been known to be a super neutral country in history, but they I think everybody in Switzerland is required to go to training to shoot guns. And I remember reading about this, and it's like, okay, behind peace, behind um calmness, there is something that is um there is training, there's culture, there's knowledge of how to use these you know weapons and how to be aware of it. And to me, I am pro-weapons only because I do believe in the Second Amendment, because but then that should be paired with some sort of mandatory training or higher level of you know status or legal status or whatever the case might be to be able to have guns. That's just my opinion. But uh it's a tragedy. I mean, like, for example, the the it's a 15-year-old, and I read that you know, depending on how the the the court finds him, he might be tried as an adult, right? Was he caught up in some sort of gang thing that he wasn't even supposed to be in charge of, and now he's taken the blame for? I don't know. Um another issue about this is you know, Mayor Um uh Wilson, uh yeah, Mayor Wilson, Christy Wilson, she was in was in uh trouble because she had advocated for CC TVs, you know, the the closed like the cameras around Seattle. And unfortunately, the cameras did not capture this event because it was a little bit too far away. But there's also you know a question of privacy. Does this mean that you know we should put more cameras on every corner of every street? And that gets into privacy issues, right? Now we have Second Amendment, we have privacy, so there's a there's a lot of uh fundamental, I think, American rights that are kind of tied up into situations like this. And I wish I knew what the answer was, but I think I would lean in more toward having guns with higher levels of control.

SPEAKER_04 19:20

Yeah, you know, this is a really great debate. And you know, as I grow older and I just see more of the world and I I look, I'm I'm trying to formulate thoughts on which way to go. It's not, it's there's so it's not cut and dry. It really isn't. It's just like, hey, no guns, that's gonna solve the problem, right? Because it also makes us basically powerless if there was a terrorist attack or if the government decides, hey, you got to follow what we do, or we're gonna shoot you. We have nothing to defend ourselves. So the debate is, and it's such a good debate. It's like, do we take away people's rights, their right to defend themselves, or do we um, you know, have a lot more like, do we have safety, right? Uh do we have CCTV, but that takes away privacy rights, right? It's like, what is the right thing here? Because I understand both sides in some sense. And the reason why I can understand both sides, and the reason why I would even think that it would be something to consider to have CCTV or to have uh uh no guns allowed, is because I look at Korea and I look at how um Korea has is so safe, it's such a safe place. People don't worry about gunshots, right? It's a different feeling, they feel safe with their families, right? Uh and then also um they do have CCTV, and so uh, and that's a lot of Asia. And and what happens when they get caught on CCTV, they get punished, right? It's like over here, you could steal in California, you could steal like you know, under a thousand dollars worth of things and you could get away with it, right? It's like there's such a big difference. Um, and that's why, and then there's no drugs allowed in Korea. I mean, it's not really allowed here as well, besides like marijuana, but so many people do drugs, and it's just like I see people openly doing drugs in Seattle, and it's just okay. Like, what's happening? They're not being detained, they're not being, you know, it's like nothing's happening. And so um, this is why I I I am struggling with this kind of thing. I understand what you're saying, privacy and gun rights amendment, yet I also understand the other side as well. And so uh I don't I am not established in this, but this is a really good debate and something to think about.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Yeah, I mean, I think the point that I want to reiterate is that behind every peaceful nation or society, there's some crazy stuff that happened before, right? Like there was actually um there's a movie made about this actually, and it was it's called the uh the Kwangju Massacre, where there I think this is crazy. I gotta share this story. So this long story, so long story short, in the 50s, I think it was in the 50s or early 60s, Korea had just come out of the Korean War. Uh Korea was a very military militaristic society, and there was a place called Kwangju where they were trying to uh evacuate all the civilians because the uh I think they were worried that communists were infiltrating, but unfortunately, there was a big miscommunication, and all of these civilians got shot, like massacred. And there are there's a movie about this, right?

SPEAKER_04 22:54

I saw it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

And uh my mom actually was she told me she literally left that town a few days before it happened. I don't think I told you this ever, but she was like, I narrowly missed that thing, and the reason why I bring it up is because you know, in that situation, civilians trusted the military or the police in our case, right? Kind of tying it back, but they had no way to defend themselves, and I think it just goes back to America is a very big society with a lot of different cultures, our land mass is just huge. I mean, there's constant debates about how to even um think about even landlord tenant laws in different states, right? We actually go look for deals in other states that have favorable landlord tenant laws, if you know us well enough. And it's like, can we really create a society that is so locked in as a whole country this big that we can you know come to terms on this? I don't know. I don't know if I if I can maybe it should be every state you know governing their own rights um to a certain degree. But anyway, I think it's a good debate also. I'm on the side of having more uh defense mechanisms as a person, as a citizen. I mean, I don't have weapons, right? You do, like you mentioned, and it's like it's a very, very difficult thing to navigate, especially as we have children, young children, you know. So whatever side of the case, you know, uh of the debate you you are on, I think it's a tragedy. Um, but I think people should understand and be aware. And yeah, I I hope everybody who's injured um recovers well, especially the kid, the two-year-old kid. And you know, what a blessing for him to be okay.

SPEAKER_04 25:02

Yeah, thank God. Thank God. Yeah, okay, guys. Well, thank you for watching. Um, very unfortunate situation, but we'll cover more things that happen. It doesn't have to be Seattle, we'll we'll cover uh other big stories. Hopefully, this doesn't happen often, but thank you for watching. Please hit that like button, please subscribe, it does help the channel a lot. So we'll see you guys on the next video. Sorry, I'm lost.