Tukwila Shooting Leaves 2 Dead -- Man, Woman Also Critically Hurt Near Nude-Dance Club

TUKWILA - Two people were killed and two others critically wounded early today in a shooting near a nude-dancing club.

``Our preliminary investigation indicates the possibility of murder and suicide, but we are still looking at other possibilities,'' Bob McQueen, Tukwila assistant police chief, said today.

He identified the survivors of the shooting as Clarissa Ann Freeman, 20, of SeaTac, and Howard Lee Blake, 27, who moved here recently from Phoenix. Blake is a former manager of the dance club.

The identities of the dead men were not released.

McQueen said one of the dead men is a local resident and the other is believed to be from California.

McQueen said all four victims were shot inside the duplex and that a semi-automatic pistol was found near one of the victims.

Police were called to a tiny duplex at 2:20 a.m. and found a man and Freeman in the parking lot of the adjacent L'il Darling Topless Dancing Club.

The man was dead and Freeman was barely alive, McQueen, said.

Inside the duplex they found one man dead and Blake, the former manager, wounded, but alive, McQueen said.

Freeman and Blake were taken to Harborview Medical Center, where they were listed in critical condition with head wounds. All four were connected with L'il Darling, owned by the national Deja Vu chain of topless clubs. Li'l Darling is at 15011 Pacific Highway S, according to employees there.

One employee, Lorin Sandretzky, said the shootings appeared to be the work of a jealous boyfriend who shot three people and then himself.

A young woman who dances in the club said Freeman had been having difficulties with her boyfriend recently.

``He was real nice and friendly until a month ago,'' the dancer said. She said Freeman had ended an engagement with her boyfriend a few days ago.

Sandretzky said he came upon the dead and wounded shortly after the shootings.

``I walked right into the middle of it. There was a lot of blood everywhere,'' he said.

``He fired six shots, at least,'' Sandretzky added. ``One of them (the victims) was in the wrong place at the wrong time.''

A man who lives in the other half of the duplex said he heard shooting.

The man, who would identify himself only as Joe, said he closed the grocery store he runs next to the club at 1:40 a.m. He said he walked across the parking lot, which is littered with beer bottles and condoms, went inside and was in bed by 2 a.m.

A short time later, he and his wife heard what sounded like a door slamming shut.

``There was a lot of noise, but it's always noisy here,'' he said.

When the slamming sound continued, the man stepped outside. Within seconds, a woman stumbled out the door of the other unit.

``She was all covered in blood - blood all over her head,'' Joe said. He spoke to her, but she didn't answer.

He said he yelled for someone to call 911.

Some people who live in the area said they don't know or want to know about those associated with the club.

``In this kind of neighborhood, you don't know your neighbors,'' said Ron Humbert, who lives a few blocks away.

The initial call on the shooting came from someone inside the club, which is open until about 3 a.m., McQueen said. All of the businesses around the club were closed at the time. McQueen said there is a lot of foot traffic in the area most of the night.

Deja Vu operates a number of topless dancing clubs in the Puget Sound area, from Everett to Lake City, downtown Seattle and Federal Way.

-- Times staff reporter Tomas Guillen contributed to this report.