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A man who claims to have been one of two men shot early Saturday morning near the “no-cop” CHOP zone in Seattle is now blaming the police for not responding to the incident fast enough for him.
In an interview with local media, DeJuan Young said he was shot shortly after another victim, Lorenzo Anderson, was killed by gunfire in the zone the same morning about a block from him.
Young told the local news media that after he heard the first shots, he sought to vacate the area when he was shot just outside of the zone.
Young, who is black, claimed the incident was racially motivated.
“So basically I was shot by, I’m not sure if they’re ‘Proud Boys’ or KKK,” said Young. “But the verbiage that they said was hold this ‘N—–’ and shot me,” he said, according to KIRO7.
Young further claimed that he was pushed onto the hood of a car.
“And they stood over top of me and continued to fire,” he said. “I tried to protect myself and got shot in the arm. And they got away.”
In a separate TikTok video, Young says, “I was shot in CHAZ (the alternate name for the CHOP zone) on Friday and the cops left me out there to die. I need help with some money and the legal or media to get my story told and get it out there. I got shot five times. Need your guy’s help.”
A man who got shot in CHAZ now wants to sue the police for not responding fast enough to the "autonomous zone" where they have up barricades barring the police from entering.https://t.co/6udR8zekik
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) June 24, 2020
Notably, Young does not mention any racial motivations behind the attack in the video.
Also, video released by the Seattle Police Department shortly after the Saturday shootings clearly show that officers were set upon by zone occupants and impeded from reaching victims.
In the video, an officer can be heard announcing over a megaphone, “Please move out of the way so we can get to the victim. All we’re trying to do is get to the victim and provide them aid.”
At one point, individuals inside the zone begin shouting at officers that the victim “is gone.”
A statement released after the incident by Seattle police noted that officers were surrounded by “a violent crowd.”
“On June 20th, at approximately 2:30 AM, East Precinct officers responded to a report of shots fired in Cal Anderson Park. This is inside the area referred to as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP),” the statement noted.
“Officers attempted to locate a shooting victim but were met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims. Officers were later informed that the victims, both males, had been transported to Harborview Medical Center by CHOP ‘medics.’”
The Seattle Times added that video taken by an independent journalist with Converge Media “shows police arriving at the shooting scene in a phalanx, guns drawn, behind shields. They were met by angry, yelling protesters, who told them the victim had already been taken to the hospital.”
Additionally, independent journalist Andy Ngô also tweeted that police “were not allowed to enter CHAZ.”
The titular head of the zone, rapper Raz Simone, took to social media to complain that EMS personnel also failed to respond, though medics with the Seattle Fire Department operate under a protocol that they do not enter unsecured areas without a police escort.
#nolivesmatter #blacklivesmatter #alllivesmatter pic.twitter.com/Nja8eFYe0u
— Raz Simone (@RazSimone) June 21, 2020
As for Young, Red State notes that he is attempting to raise $10,000 via a GoFundMe account — and that this isn’t the first time he’s done so.
He had a prior GoFundMe that was launched in June 2018 for another alleged shooting incident where he claimed “being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Then, the listing said he had a bullet lodged near his spine and needed help with his medical bills.
The KIRO7 report inaccurately claimed that the CHOP zone was established as the result of a “feud” over the Seattle PD’s East Precinct, which is inside the boundaries and was abandoned ahead of the zone being established.
The report also did not mention that CHOP was established as a ‘police-free’ area. As of this writing, the Seattle PD has not yet issued a response to Young’s claims.
His current GoFundMe account already contains nearly $6,400.
Two other shooting incidents have occurred since Young and Anderson were shot. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) said earlier this week the zone would be dismantled after the surge in violence.
Some residents in the zone along with business and property owners have filed suit against the city for failing to protect their property rights.
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Jon is a staff writer for BizPac Review with 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
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