Prosecutor: Seattle and county deadly shootings fall to ‘single digits’ for first time in nine years

(Source: King County Prosecuting Attorney)

The ongoing rash of Pike/Pine nightlife shootings runs counter to gun violence trends in the city and across the Seattle area, according to the latest report from King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion.

Manion’s office has been providing regular updates on shootings and gunfire incidents across recent years that show gun violence in the county as a whole continues to drop to pre-pandemic levels.

In her office’s latest updates, Manion says the first quarter of 2026 marked a new milestone in the return to safer levels as deadly shootings dropped to “single digits” for the first time in nine years.

In the first three months of the year, the county recorded nine “gun violence homicides,” the update says, the lowest mark since 2017.

“We will keep building on our two-prong approach to 1) use data to identify and intervene with individuals most at risk before they become victims or perpetrators of violence and 2) identify those causing the most harm in our communities and seek necessary accountability to interrupt their harmful, violent behavior,” Manion is quoted as saying in the update.

The county numbers line up with nationwide trends as a surge in gun violence during the pandemic has quieted across most of the country.

(Source: King County Prosecuting Attorney)

Overall, Manion’s office reports the number of deadly shootings in the first quarter decreased 61% “compared to its peak in 2023” while the number of those injured in shootings decreased 56% “from its peak in 2022.”

In addition to publishing quarterly and end of year gun violence reports, the prosecutor is providing reports detailing cases filed by her office in which a firearm was involved, including cases involving firearm violence. In the month of March, the office filed 60 cases based on law enforcement referrals in which firearms were involved.

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes says improved hiring and retention have helped the city crime totals drop. CHS reported here on the 2025 SPD crime stats and the numbers for Capitol Hill and the Central District. Reports of shots fired and gun violence in the city fell in 2025 down 18% across Seattle and 34% across the East Precinct.

The latest Pike/Pine bout of gun violence continues the neighborhood’s place in bucking the trends after three people were shot outside an E Pike nightclub. CHS reported here on the latest in the case after a 19-year-old Tacoma man was arrested in a Broadway apartment days after the shooting. Police say the teen had been arrested in Seattle just two weeks prior for illegal possession of a firearm.

A spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office said they expect to be able to make a charging decision in the case this week.

Homicides across Capitol Hill and the Central District fell to five in 2025 after spiking to a dozen in 2024. The 2025 killings were concentrated in a troubled hot spot for the precinct — the blocks around Cal Anderson and Pike and Broadway.

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