Originally published January 21, 2017 at 12:45 pm Updated January 21, 2017 at 8:19 pm
A man suffering from a gunshot wound is helped away from the scene in Red Square. (Johnny Andrews/The Seattle Times)
Police say the man who fired the gun Friday night at the University of Washington claimed he had been assaulted by the man he shot, and that he believed he was a white supremacist. Friends of the critically injured man, say he is no racist.By Steve Miletich and Susan Kelleher Seattle Times staff reporters
The man who surrendered to police in connection with the University of Washington shooting Friday night was released after telling investigators he fired in self-defense during a campus protest, according to two law-enforcement officials briefed on the case.
No details about any confrontation between him and the critically wounded man were available Saturday. But one of the law-enforcement officials said the man who fired the gun claimed he had been assaulted before shooting the other man, whom he believed to be some type of white supremacist.
The injured man, 34, was in critical condition Saturday at Harborview Medical Center, following surgery. His name was not released.
The shooting, which occurred during a protest of a Friday-night speech at Kane Hall by Breitbart News Network editor and provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, remains under investigation.
Two people who said they are friends with the wounded man disputed the characterization of him as a supremacist. One said his friend supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primary, and both said he sports an anti-hate tattoo that consists of a black swastika surrounded by a red circle with a slash through it.
Max Vohra of Seattle, who has known the man for seven years, said his friend got the tattoo more than a decade ago “when he was living in California, and had to deal with a lot of racists in the punk scene.” The idea for the tattoo, Vohra said, came from a NOFX song called “The Brews,” which references “anti-swastika tattoos.”
Daniel Herrera, who has worked and socialized with the man for three years, said he’s never seen his friend be aggressive.
“He has always been of the mind to be compassionate, empathetic and to educate. That’s his goal,” Herrera said.
UW police offered few details Saturday, saying in a news release that no suspects were being sought, and that the man who said he fired the gun was released pending investigation.