Closure to Chaotic Weekend Shooting: PHOTOS of the Victims & Suspect

A 19-year-old convicted pimp considered a person of interest in the South Seattle slaying of a pregnant teen was shot to death Saturday afternoon in San Francisco.
Killed by police after allegedly firing on officers, Seattle resident Kenneth Harding was described by police in Seattle and San Francisco as a person of interest in the death of Tanaya Gilbert.
Gilbert, 19, was shot to death in a car in South Seattle during a shooting that saw three others wounded. Police have been searching for her killer since; relatives previously said she may have been targeted for speaking out about an earlier shooting, or simply shot at random following a chance encounter.
Rosa Bankston, Gilbert’s aunt, told the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday that the Seattle shooting was "a freak accident.”
“She was in a wrong place at the wrong time," Bankston said. The shooter, she said, "had a dispute with someone on the street, and he opened fire. She was an innocent girl caught in the cross fire. It's a sad case, just a sad case."
Shot by San Francisco officers after attempting to sneak onto the city subway, Harding had recently been convicted of pimping a 13-year-old girl in near Seattle Center.
Harding, then 18, was initially charged with second degree rape of a child as well as attempted promoting prostitution, following allegations that he had sex with the 13-year-old whom he delivered to the Seattle Center area on Jan. 7, 2010.
According to court documents, the girl called 911 from a pay phone in Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood to report that Harding had picked her up at her home earlier in the day and taken her to walk the “track.”
The girl told police Harding dropped her off near Denny Way and Aurora Avenue the late on Jan. 6 and told her to make “’ho’ money” for him. Harding instructed the child what to charge customers for sex.
“The victim told (Harding) no, that she is not a whore,” a Seattle detective told the court. Harding “said that she was either going to make ‘ho’ money and get a ride back or he was going to leave her there. The victim got out of the car and again said she was not a whore, that she had respect for herself.”
Harding then told her to find her own way home, threw her belongings from the car and drove from the scene.
The girl subsequently identified by his street name, “Rich,” and described his Cadillac to police. Detectives arrested Harding at his home.
Initially charged with child rape, Harding ultimately pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree promoting prostitution. He was sentenced to nearly two years in prison on April 2, 2010, and appears to have recently been released.
Before sentencing, Harding’s attorney described him as a young man on the mend following a juvenile robbery conviction.
“Kenneth Harding looks forward to re-enrolling in community college upon his release from custody,” the defense attorney told the court. “He recognizes that his former lifestyle does not provide long-term choices, and has used the time for reflection and development of plans for the future.”
Harding, who was fatally wounded Saturday afternoon while fleeing from officers who had tried to cite him for Muni fare evasion, had recently been released from a prison, San Francisco Police Chief Greg  Suhr said.
KGO-TV in San Francisco identified the dead man as Harding.
Seattle police confirmed Monday that detectives were seeking Harding as a person of interest in the slaying Wednesday of Gilbert, which also killed her unborn child. Three others were injured. A day after the shooting, gunfire marred a vigil for Gilbert.
"Seattle Police homicide detectives confirm that the person of interest in last Wednesday's homicide was shot and killed Saturday afternoon in San Francisco by police," a Seattle Police spokesman said in a statement. "Seattle Police are working with the San Francisco Police Department on their investigation."
In San Francisco, Harding was stopped at 4:44 p.m. by two uniformed officers conducting a fare inspection on a light rail platform.
Harding ran, then drew a gun as officers chased him, Suhr said.
"He was shooting indiscriminately, more than one time," Suhr said of the man, who apparently fired over his shoulder. "He fired at them, they fired back. That is what officers are going to do. If you fire at the police, they are going to shoot back."
An amateur video has since surfaced online showing the fatally injured man and what appears to be a gun on the pavement nearby. The weapon was taken from the scene, but Suhr said the .45 caliber silver pistol was recovered Saturday night with the help of informants.
As the graphic amateur video shows, the shooting prompted an angry reaction from people in the neighborhood who gathered around the fallen man. Hours later, after midnight, police responded to a small demonstration in the Mission District related to the shooting.

 Candles burn after a memorial for Tanaya Gilbert, a 19 year-old woman shot and killed in South Seattle. A memorial was held for the woman, who was pregnant, on Thursday, July 14, 2011 on 54th Avenue South, site of the shooting. The memorial was marred by another shooting a block away.





Mourners arrange candles and flowers during a memorial for Tanaya Gilbert, a 19 year-old woman shot and killed in South Seattle. A memorial was held for the woman, who was pregnant, on Thursday, July 14, 2011 on 54th Avenue South, site of the shooting.