Seattle gunman described as ‘respectful’

updated 10:32 p.m. ET March 26, 2006

SEATTLE - A man suspected of killing six young people at a house party before he turned the gun on himself was described Sunday as respectful and polite by an apartment manager.

The man committed suicide Saturday morning after police said he opened fire on young partygoers who had invited him to a private gathering following a “zombie rave” in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

“This would have been so far out of character,” said Jim Pickett, the assistant manager of the Town & Country Apartments, where he said the alleged gunman lived with his twin brother.

Authorities identified the alleged shooter as Aaron Kyle Huff, 28, who had moved to Seattle nearly five years ago from Whitefish, Mont.

Montana’s Flathead County sheriff’s Lt. Dave Leib said he informed Huff’s mother Sunday afternoon that her son was dead and was a suspect in the shootings.

Pickett said the brothers were private and good tenants.

“You don’t find two boys as respectful as these two always were,” he said.

Pickett said he saw the suspected gunman’s brother as police searched the twins’ apartment Saturday night.

“He gave a look to me like ‘I don’t know what’s going on,”’ Pickett said.

Police spokesman Sean Whitcomb confirmed that a search warrant was served Saturday evening on the block where the twins’ apartment is located. One person was questioned, but no one was arrested, he said.

Police still developing motive
“We do believe we have the suspect identified,” Whitcomb said. “We are not releasing that identity because we are not 100 percent certain.”

Whitcomb said police were still working on a motive.

Pickett said he never saw either of the brothers with weapons, but saw authorities remove three rifles from their apartment.

The gunman was armed with a 12-gauge pistol-grip shotgun, a handgun and wore bandoliers of shotgun shells and additional clips for the handgun. In his truck, police found an assault rife and multiple “banana clips” carrying 30 bullets each.

Four young men and two young women were killed, and two people were hospitalized in serious condition after the shooting, officials said.

Police said the gunman left the party around 7 a.m. and came back with the weapons.

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