Seattle councilmember shares view of what happened during Bite of Seattle shooting
SEATTLE - It's been over two weeks since the Bite of Seattle shooting occurred, but questions remain over how information was distributed by the city to the community that evening and how to prevent a similar communication breakdown from happening in the future.
To provide a clearer picture of how information was passed along that evening, District 7 councilmember Bob Kettle, who also chairs the Public Safety Committee, posted a timeline on Tuesday sharing his perspective of how events unfolded on July 26.
Councilmember Kettle posts timeline
What we know:
Kettle's timeline begins at 6 p.m. on the evening of July 26 after the Seattle Police Department (SPD) received preliminary reports of gunfire.
At 6:10 p.m., multiple notifications from the community are received, and 19 minutes later, the first post on X by SPD announcing an investigation is shared.
After phone calls with Deputy Mayor Brian Surratt, councilmembers Dionne Foster and Dan Strauss, and an attempted phone call with Council President Joy Hollingsworth, Kettle posts that he arrived at the Seattle Center at about 7:20 p.m.
Following a call with councilmember Rob Saka and another call with Surratt, Kettle reveals he sent the following texts:
- 7:30 p.m. text to City Council group text: "Currently on campus. Still an active situation. Will follow up. Please do not reply all."
- 7:58 p.m. text to Public Safety Director Alison Holcomb: "Currently with DM; have been in-briefed."Holcomb responds, "Lots of incoming, more to come."Kettle replies,"Push what you can. Thank you."
- Holcomb responds, "Lots of incoming, more to come."
- Kettle replies,"Push what you can. Thank you."
- 8:05 p.m. text to SPD Chief Shon Barnes: "Currently on station at the command center with DM (deputy mayor)."
- Barnes replies, "I was informed. Working on a conference call."
At 8:08 p.m., Kettle posts that he sent another group text to City Council, saying that he will receive an update at 9 p.m.
Around 8:50 p.m., Kettle receives the mayor's statement, but notes that he highlighted an error in his response.
He then says he sent the statement to the City Council group chat accompanied by the following text: "Statement is being amended. One suspect apprehended. Trying to determine on possible second suspect. Suspect apprehended is a 15-year-old male. Now three deceased. Do not reply all. Thank you."
At 8:57 p.m., a Microsoft Teams call including high-ranking officials in Washington like Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Gov. Ferguson, Mayor Wilson, and SPD Chief Barnes took place for about 26 minutes.
Kettle then says he left the Seattle Center around 10:05 p.m.
The first news conference held by SPD began around 10:50 p.m.
3 shooters involved in Bite of Seattle mass shooting, court documents say
Court documents say three suspects were involved in the deadly Bite of Seattle shooting, including one who was killed.
What happened during the Bite of Seattle shooting?
The backstory:
On the evening of July 26, three people were killed and five others were injured in a shooting at Seattle Center.
Seattle police confirmed that a shooting occurred during the Bite of Seattle event at 6 p.m. on the northwest side of The Armory.
The next day, court documents revealed that police believed a 15-year-old suspect was involved in a gunfight with a 19-year-old, later identified as Junior Cee Niko Semo, who was killed in the shooting.
Investigators also stated that they believed "at least one other unknown suspect" was involved in the shooting.
Victims also included 44-year-old Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba and 56-year-old Ashley Whitehead. Five other people were taken to the hospital, but were all discharged.
Seattle leaders hold press conference on Seattle Center mass shooting
Seattle police say three people died and four people were injured in a shooting at Seattle Center on Sunday during the Bite of Seattle food festival. One suspect is in custody, and another is on the run.
Seattle leaders faced criticism after waiting nearly five hours to hold a press conference following the shooting. Mayor Wilson was further criticized for prematurely saying that two suspects were in custody, when there in fact was only one suspect arrested.
In a press conference held at Seattle City Hall the following morning, Wilson addressed questions regarding the long delay, citing the difficulty of releasing news quickly during a crisis.
"My office put out a statement at 8:30, which again, included an initial inaccuracy, so, again, this speaks to the tension between providing information early and providing it accurately," said Wilson. "So we along with SPD were trying to manage that tension and we got information out to you all as soon as we possibly could."
Mayor Wilson calls for Bite of Seattle shooting review
What they're saying:
On Monday, Mayor Wilson said she requested an independent after-action review of how public information was handled following the Bite of Seattle shooting.
"The people of Seattle deserve timely, accurate information after major public safety events, and I want to understand clearly how the process can be improved," Wilson said in a statement. "The Inspector General’s office is the right entity to conduct this review, and I am directing every department to give them full cooperation."
Inspector General Lisa Judge confirmed that the OIG has already initiated its evaluation of the communications timeline between first responders and the community during and after the incident.
"In the aftermath of a community tragedy like the gun violence at the Bite of Seattle, it’s essential for government agencies to come together and assess our actions, evaluate critical functions like communication between departments and with residents, and provide the public with a transparent and robust review," Judge said.
The comments come almost two weeks after Mayor Wilson relieved Shon Barnes of his duties as police chief, which many believe is a decision tied to Barnes' management of the Bite of Seattle shooting.
He was replaced by current interim police Chief Andre Sayles.
Mayor calls for Bite of Seattle shooting review
Interim Seattle Police Chief Andre Sayles is scheduled to address the City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday regarding the security response to the deadly July 26 mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival.
What's next:
Judge added that the office hopes to complete its initial work this fall.
Findings will be presented to the Mayor’s Office and the Public Safety Committee, with the final report anticipated to be published publicly on the OIG website by mid-December.
The Source: Information for this story came from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle and the timeline posted by Seattle Councilmember Bob Kettle.
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