Unlucky 13: Mass Murder in a Seattle Club

Mass murder in a Seattle club

It was a private club, and the patrons were placing bets on a Chinese game called “paykyo,” using metal chips. But on this particular night in Seattle’s Chinatown, all of the players were tragic losers. At least two gunmen, for reasons that were not immediately clear, entered the turquoise-painted Wah Mee (Beautiful China) club from its alley entrance some time before midnight, bound the hands and feet of all but one of the 14 occupants, then aimed handguns at the heads of all. When the methodical shooting was over, twelve Asians lay dead; a 13th died later in a hospital. The 14th fled, badly wounded, into the alley and directed a passer-by to the mass-murder scene. All but one of the victims were men.

Seattle police quickly seized two suspects, but refused to say where, or precisely what led to the arrests. Officials suggested that robbery could have been the motive for the violence and had no evidence that a gang vendetta was involved. The only known survivor was too seriously wounded to tell his story and was heavily guarded in his hospital room. Said a neighborhood woman, as police and reporters sought details: “This is Chinatown. Nobody knows anything.”