Man charged with Int'l District homeless camp shooting A 29-year-old man is accused of shooting a man in the stomach during an argument in Seattle

King County prosecutors charged a 29-year-old man last week with shooting a man in the stomach during an argument at an International District homeless encampment. King County prosecutors charged a 29-year-old man last week with shooting a man in the stomach during an argument at an International District homeless encampment. Photo: GENNA MARTIN/SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GENNA MARTIN/SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 92 Caption Close Man charged with Int'l District homeless camp shooting 1 / 92 Back to Gallery

King County prosecutors charged a 29-year-old man last week with shooting a man in the stomach during an argument at an International District homeless encampment.

Thuc Van Nguyen was charged Dec. 12 with first-degree assault for allegedly shooting a 30-year-old man in front of several witnesses and remains jailed on $750,000 bail.

Cops were called about 10:27 a.m. Dec. 7 to 611 12th Avenue South, the location of the Seattle Indian Health Board building, which overlooks a nearby tent encampment located on 10th Avenue South, Seattle police reports say.

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An employee at the Seattle Indian Health Board told cops that his office bears a view of the camp and he saw five men arguing beneath his office window. He claimed one of the men pulled out a handgun and fired one shot. The employee ducked down to the floor and when he peered out the window again, all the men were gone.

Police soon detained three suspects from an SUV near the scene and a witness who saw the shooting up close identified one of the men, Nguyen, as the shooter.

Police arrested Nguyen for investigation of assault, as well as a King County felony warrant.

A search of the SUV yielded a .380 Ruger semi-automatic handgun protruding from beneath the passenger seat, where Nguyen sat when he and his associates were stopped by police.

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Staff at Harborview Medical Center called 911 about 12:27 p.m., claiming a man walked into the emergency room with a gunshot wound to the stomach.

When interviewed the police, the victim repeatedly changed his story about where he was shot, but his appearance matched the victim description provided by witnesses, according to Seattle police.

He claimed he was jumped by several people, shot and hit with a metal bar. Investigating officers recovered a crowbar from the shooting scene.

The victim refused to discuss the assault with police and claimed he did not see the shooter.

SeattlePI reporter Lynsi Burton can be reached at lynsiburton@seattlepi.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LynsiBurton_PI. Find more from Lynsi here.