A homeless veteran, a married couple and a passerby who abandoned her running car were among those who came to the aid a Bellevue mother of two killed in a Seattle shooting rampage that took the lives of six people, reports SeattlePI.com.
and her Mercedes SUV taken by Ian Stawicki, who had fled the scene of a mass shooting at a coffee shop in the Ravenna neighborhood earlier in the day, Seattle police said.
Seattle police say that Stawicki, 40, shot five people at Cafe Racer, killing four of them and critically wounding the fifth.
About a half hour later, witnesses saw Leonidas fight off Stawicki in a parking lot near Town Hall in the First Hill neighborhood, the PI reported. Leonidas knocked the gun to the ground at one point, according to the report, but he managed to shoot her and take her SUV.
Stawicki turned the gun on himself in West Seattle and later died at Harborview Medical Center, after police tracked him down.
The PI reported that Jason Yori, a U.S. Navy veteran who is now homeless, heard the gunshot and was among those who rushed to Leonidas' aid. The passersby attempted to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center.
The SeattlePI.com has Yori's full account.
Leonidas was the mother of two daughters, according to the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
She worked in sales for Electrical Reps West and in 2010.
EvergreenHealth issued a statement about Leonidas earlier Friday:
EvergreenHealth Remembers Foundation Board Member Gloria Leonidas
"EvergreenHealth lost a visionary leader, incredible fundraiser and dear friend in Gloria Leonidas this week. We grieve with Gloria’s family and each of the lives she touched through her important work with the EvergreenHealth Foundation and beyond.
Gloria was a distinguished and deeply respected member of the EvergreenHealth Foundation board from 2002 to 2012, where her creative energy and caring spirit helped define the vision of the foundation’s primary fundraiser, the annual Gala.
During her tenure on the Foundation board, Gloria touched many lives and her crowning legacy will be remembered by many as EvergreenHealth’s annual Gala, which is responsible for raising over $7.5 million to support the care of the Eastside community.
On behalf of a community who dearly loved her, including the entire EvergreenHealth organization, we express our deepest sympathies for the loss of Gloria and honor her life’s innumerable contributions which will benefit many generations to come."
Kae Peterson
Executive Director
EvergreenHealth Foundation (formerly Evergreen Healthcare Foundation)
The Illuminating Engineering Society of Puget Sound, of which Leonidas was an active member since 1983, also issued a statement, which said in part:
Gloria’s long history with the IES organization made her an irreplaceable resource to the rest of our membership. She shared her experience and expertise generously with everyone in the lighting community. Our local chapter is more active and successful due to her tireless support and involvement. She has touched the lives of countless people throughout the lighting professions, and we will all miss her greatly.
