SEATTLE -- Thirteen people were hog-tied and shot in the head in a mass execution during an apparent robbery Saturday at a high-stakes Chinatown gambling den. Two suspects were arrested several hours later.
One man survived the carnage at the Wah-Mee Club and staggered into an alley where a passerby found him about 12:44 a.m PST and called police.
It was among the highest number of people murdered in a single day in U.S. history and the worst mass murder ever in Seattle.
The unidentified survivor, who was shot in the head and mouth, was listed in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center and under heavy police guard.
The man provided detectives with information that led to the arrests of Benjamin Ng, 20, and Willie Mak, 19, both Seattle residents. The two reportedly were born in Hong Kong.
Police Major Dale Douglass said officers questioned and released a third person but were searching for another suspect in the worst mass murder in Seattle history.
'When I arrived at the scene, there were bodies on the floor, face down, hands and feet tied with the same binding material,' Douglass said. The material was described as a light nylon cord.
Douglass said investigators believe robbery was the motive and there was no evidence the slayings were gang-related.
'We think probably the suspects were there and the robbery took place,' Douglass said. 'The victims' pockets were empty and personal effects were scattered. We did not find money (on the scene).'
Douglass said a small caliber weapon, possibly a rifle, was used in the killings.
Eleven bodies -- those of 10 men and one woman -- were found on the floor of the main area of the private club. A 12th body was found in an office. The 13th victim was alive when police broke into the club, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Douglass declined to estimate how much money was taken during the slaughter but added the amount was 'not nickel and dime.' He said paraphernalia for Chinese games of chance was found in the club but there was no evidence gambling was going on at the time of the killings.
Police Capt. Mike Slessman said he believed the victims probably knew their killers.
'I didn't see any signs of resistance,' Slessman said. 'I believe they recognized them.'
He said it appeared unlikely the killers could have gained entry to the private club -- where residents of Seattle's International District have gathered for decades to gamble Chinese-style -- unless they were known.
The entrance to the Wah-Mee had a one-way mirror window through which club officials identified members and allowed them to enter.
Douglass refused to say if the suspects confessed.
King County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mary Kay Barbieri said the suspects will be charged Tuesday but she would not say what charges would be filed.
Dr. Harry Bonnella, assistant King County medical examiner, said the victims died from gunshot wounds to the head. Some were shot once and others several times. He said an autopsy on one victim showed a gunshot fired from close range.
Bonnella identified nine victims, all Seattle residents, as John Loui, Chong L. Chinn, Wing Wong, 59, Noo Min Mar, 52, Jean Mar, 47, Dewey Mar, Henning Chinn, 52, Gim Lun Wong, and Hung Fat Gee, approximately 50.
Several of the victims, whose ages ranged from the 20s to the 60s, were owners of Oriental restaurants in the Seattle area.
The four-story building housing the club and several retail shops is located in the International District -- the city's Asian retail and restaurant area.
