Washington Police Killings Tracked on Twitter

TechFlash reports: We've been following the tragic killing of four police officers near Tacoma, the subsequent siege of the alleged shooter at a home in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood, and recent developments that the suspect may now be roaming the University District or Beacon Hill with a dose of fascination, sadness, and fear. And we've been tracking the activity on Twitter where the events have played out almost in real time under the hash tag #washooting.

Could this be a watershed moment for the use of Twitter and other social-media tools in Seattle journalism? It appears so.

Last night, as the alleged shooter barricaded himself inside a home in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood, we followed along as Seattle Internet entrepreneur Buzz Bruggeman—who lives a few blocks away—offered a constant stream of updates about the police activity in the neighborhood.

Wrote Bruggeman in one Tweet:

"I feel a bit like Edward R. Murrow in London, can't see much, street blocked, flares are now burned out, unmarked cars here, copter too..."

Bruggeman was one of hundreds of "citizen journalists" who added context and insight to the events as they unfolded, a powerful source of information that we've not quite seen before around a news event of this size in Washington state.

Meanwhile, as Bruggeman and others were offering details about what was occurring around them, the Central District News also was filing Twitter dispatches from the scene, as were reporters from the Seattle P-I and the Seattle Times.

All of these nuggets of information—from traditional journalists to government agencies to individuals—combined into one powerful stream of news. And one could argue a more powerful stream than any one news organization could muster.

It was on Twitter this morning that we first learned through a "citizen journalist" that officials at the University of Washington had sent a text message warning students and staff that the alleged shooter may be in the University District. It was also on Twitter that we learned that the suspect had previously been shot and that the suspect was no longer holed up in the Leschi home. (The latter tidbit came from King5.)

Through it all, there have been thousands of Tweets from citizens expressing outrage, grief, and sadness, which have helped tell the story in a new, more personal way.

Of course, as with any news medium, you have to consider the source. And there's certainly been some good information mixed in with bad information. (We've also seen this play out on Twitter over the past few days following the Tiger Woods' car accident).

That's where some of the traditional news sources have stood out by doing the jobs of professional journalists to sort out fact from fiction while reporting from the scene.

But, overall, the most in-depth and timely source of information we've found to date is flowing through Twitter.