Downtown Seattle bakery closes 'for the safety of its employees' amid rampant crime, drug use: reports

A downtown Seattle bakery is temporarily closing one of its locations "for the safety of its employees" after a spate of recent shootings, including at least one that was fatal, has left owners concerned, according to officials and reports. 

Piroshky Piroshky Bakery is temporarily shuttering its Century Square storefront until further notice, the business confirmed Monday in a Facebook post. The bakery’s owner, Olga Sagan, told local affiliate FOX 13 Seattle, she made the decision after three shootings in the area this month, including one as recently as Sunday. Rampant drug use in the area also played a role in her decision, the news station reported. 

The store reportedly cited "countless safety concerns" as the reason for the closure.

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A man was shot multiple times around 12:30 p.m. Sunday around Third Avenue and Pine Street – just steps from the bakery, the Seattle Police Department said. Investigators were still looking for the gunman as of Monday. 

And a different broad-daylight shooting was also reported in the area days earlier, FOX 13 reported. A 31-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the hip during an argument around 2 p.m. Wednesday around Pike Street and Third Avenue, the report states.

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A second person then allegedly returned fire. Police told the news station the victim was a convicted felon who was carrying heroin, meth, fentanyl and an illegally-possessed handgun at the time. 

Sagan told The Seattle Times she made her decision solely because of the crime in the area, and asked: "How many shootings do we need to have to realize this is an active emergency in downtown Seattle?"

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"I really don’t want to wait until my employees get shot, or my customers get shot," she told the Times. "I feel it’s not far-fetched right now."