Three people including a 9-year-old boy remained hospitalized Thursday morning after police say several people in a dispute opened fire, killing a woman, in the busiest part of downtown Seattle at the height of the Wednesday evening commute.

It was the third downtown Seattle shooting in two days, and business groups implored the city to improve public safety.

Authorities began receiving calls of multiple gunshot victims at about 5 p.m., said Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins. The person who died was a woman in her 40s, fire officials said. Seven people were treated for gunshot wounds, said Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg.