Somali-American Teen's Seattle Death Called Accidental
The death of a 16-year-old Somali-American youth last month in Seattle was accidental, the King County Medical Examiner's office says.
Hamza Warsame died Dec. 5 after falling from an apartment balcony in Capitol Hill.
Warsame's family said the initial police response was minimal. That led to concerns in the Somali-American community that the death might have been the result of a hate crime motivated by anti-Muslim and racial bias.
Hundreds demonstrated last month to bring attention to Warsame’s death. His sister Ikram Warsame urged protesters to be patient and wait for investigators to finish.
Police never released any evidence to substantiate fears of a hate crime.
On Wednesday, the Medical Examiner's Office said Warsame died from blunt-force injury from an unintentional fall. No details were initially released on how investigators arrived at that conclusion.
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Derek Wang
Editor
Derek leads a team of regional correspondents and helps coordinate the news department’s daily coverage. This includes stories from Northwest News Network, a regional public broadcasting collaboration which includes coverage of state government and regional issues in Washington state and Oregon.
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