Ian Stawicki: 2012 Seattle Mass Murderer
Overview
On May 30, 2012, 40-year-old Ian Lee Stawicki carried out a spree shooting that began at Café Racer in Seattle’s University District and continued during a carjacking on First Hill. In total, five victims were murdered and one person was critically injured before Stawicki died by suicide later that afternoon in West Seattle.
Background
Stawicki, born September 16, 1971, had previously been known to Café Racer staff for disruptive behavior and had been asked not to return. Family members later described long-standing mental health struggles.
Timeline of the Crimes (May 30, 2012)
~10:52 a.m. – Café Racer, University District: Stawicki entered Café Racer (near NE 59th St. & Roosevelt Way NE). After being reminded he’d been banned, he drew a .45-caliber handgun and opened fire at close range, killing four patrons and wounding the café’s chef. Witness accounts and police reports described “execution-style” shootings, and noted that a barstool thrown by a patron enabled several people to escape.
~11:30 a.m. – First Hill carjacking: About thirty minutes later, Stawicki shot and killed a woman in a parking lot at 8th Ave. & Seneca St., just west of Town Hall, and stole her black Mercedes-Benz SUV.
Just before 4:00 p.m. – West Seattle: After a citywide manhunt, police closed in on Stawicki in West Seattle. As officers approached, he shot himself on a sidewalk; he was later pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center.
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