A black man who was shot inside Seattle's Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) last week claims it was a 'hate crime' carried out by a group of white supremacists who dropped the N-word before opening fire on him.
DeJuan Young, 33, was shot in the arm on Saturday amid a weekend of gun violence in the police-free zone, also known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), that left two people wounded and a 19-year-old man dead.
Speaking from his hospital bed at Harborview Medical Center, Young told local news station KIRO 7, he had been fleeing the area after hearing gunshots ring out when a group of four men approached him and shot him.
Speaking from his hospital bed at Harborview Medical Center, DeJuan Young said he was shot in the arm after a group of KKK or Proud Boys members opened fire on him at the CHAZ last week
Young, 33, said he was fleeing the area when he was approached by the group of men. He told local media he is 'positive it was a hate crime'
Scenes at the CHAZ turned deadly last weekend after 19-year-old rapper Lorenzo Anderson was shot and killed, and two other men were injured
'Basically I was shot by, I'm not sure if they're Proud Boys or KKK, but the verbiage that they said was "hold this n*****", and shot me,' he said.
Young said he was pushed onto the hood of the car by the force, before one of the men stood on top of him and continued to fire.
He tried to shield himself but was shot in the arm in the process. His attackers, he said, then got away.
Young was saved by volunteer medics inside the zone who drove him to the hospital when police and fire crews failed to respond after they were blocked off by protesters, he told King 5.
'I put my life in their hands and they didn't let me down,' he said.
Still, Young, who said he's 'positive this was a hate crime' questioned why the police and paramedics weren't able to protect him.
'I understand everybody's going to say, "Oh, it was the CHAZ zone and ya'll asked for the police not to be there, so don't act like ya'll need them now.'
'But technically I was outside that area. I was in Seattle streets. So what's the excuse now?' he said.
The 'police-free zone' was set up on June 8 after days of protests in the area and city officials have since faced mounting pressure to take back the area. Pictured: CHAZ protesters marching down Interstate 5 on Tuesday
Police entered the zone on Saturday after the shooting and said they were trying to get help to the victims but they were met with angry crowds
Scenes at the CHAZ turned deadly on Saturday after 19-year-old rapper Lorenzo Anderson was shot and killed and another person was critically wounded.
His killer is yet to be arrested and there are mixed reports over their motive; some say it was a personal dispute, others are calling it a right wing attack.
Hours later on Sunday, a 17-year-old victim was shot in the arm but declined to speak with detectives, police said.
Police on Saturday said they tried to get to the victims but were met with a crowd of angry protesters who screamed at them.
The fire department also says it was unable to gain access to put the victims in ambulances because EMTs are not trained to extract patients from hostile crowds.
Those on the inside said they are not hostile and that it was merely another example of police and fire departments not responding quickly enough to the death of a young black man.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, facing local and national pressure to crack down on the protests, said on Monday officials would move to wind down the blocks-long, autonomous zone set up two weeks ago.
The 'free zone' was set up on June 8 after days of protests in the area. The crowds overran the police precinct there, sending cops who were inside fleeing.
It was at first peaceful and saw people watching movies in the street and ordering vegan pizza.
As time has worn on, some say the message of the protest has gotten lost. Two members of the African American Community Advisory Council were booed when they tried to tell protesters that the message had been 'hijacked'.
The mayor did not give a deadline but said officers would soon move back to the precinct.
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