Seattle reels after deadly CID shooting, leaders call for help

SEATTLE - A deadly shooting has left Seattle’s Chinatown-International District reeling – just blocks from where community leaders have been calling for stronger public safety measures.

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said officers responded around 10:40 p.m. to reports of a disturbance near 12th Avenue South and Jackson Street.

"Analysts from our Real-Time Crime Center were able to get on cameras that we have at 12th and Jackson and confirm that there was some type of disturbance," Barnes said. "They saw people moving and running in a hurried fashion, so officers got here as quick as they could, and located a person with a non-life threatening gun shot wound that was transported to an area hospital for treatment."

Officers also found a second victim, who died at the scene.

The backstory:

Police say the violence stemmed from a dispute between two groups. 

"Whenever someone gets shot and killed it’s always a danger to the public until this person is in custody. Until this person is brought to justice he is not safe, we’re not safe," Barnes said.

The shooting highlights fears community members have been voicing for the last few years.

Sasha Toda-Peters has lived in the CID since 1994 and said the neighborhood has changed dramatically.

What they're saying:

"Oh, yeah, there’s been a tremendous change over the years," Toda-Peters said. "There’s certainly been an increase in, like, I guess, transient homelessness over the years. A lot of open drug use. We definitely could use some more social services."

He believes city leaders haven’t done enough to address the root causes.

"Maybe tax dollars haven’t been put towards good use. And yeah, I feel like we’re just kind of perpetuating this homelessness crisis just more to just provide jobs for some of our politicians, more than actually solving homelessness," Toda-Peters said.

Solving crime in Seattle's Chinatown-International District

Local perspective:

Residents say crime often just gets shifted around the city, especially from 3rd and Pine.

"It seemed like the SPD or the municipality pushed that based off of some of the complaints of the business owners and had kind of cleaned that up and then pushed that business down to 12th and Jackson and in King Street up there is just kind of that epicenter now," Toda-Peters said.

Former Seattle City Council member and community leader Tanya Woo says what happened Monday night is part of a much larger crisis.

"It’s just devastating, but it feels like it’s kind of like the norm. I mean, we’ve been experiencing a lot of these issues for the last five to seven years, and every week there’s something — a shooting, a stabbing … and every single day you walk through the Little Saigon, there are multiple overdoses. People are dying on a daily basis here, and that collective trauma just wears you down," Woo said. "And people don’t remember, or some people don’t know that this area is a residential neighborhood. I mean, we have a high school a block away from where the shooting happened last night."

Woo said the CID has long felt marginalized.

"I mean, historically this area, we’ve always felt ignored, marginalized, forgotten… and so we really need a concentrated effort from not just the city, also the county and the state. And that was part of the 15-Point Plan — we’re asking for all types of government to please step up and help," Woo said.

The community’s safety plan calls for a coordinated city-county-state response, including more patrols, increased enforcement of drug and weapons laws, a fentanyl response strategy, affordable housing expansion, and a community safety office at 12th and Jackson.

Woo said the neighborhood is at a breaking point.

"Feeling morally devastated, and it’s just, it’s just rough for everybody. I mean, you walk through a little Saigon, you see boarded up storefronts, you see fencing, barbed wire. It wasn’t like this," Woo said. "We have a brand-new park that just opened a year ago for our kids … and there's garbage everywhere. It’s just tough, especially for our small businesses."

Why you should care:

She's calling on King County and State Leaders to step in and help.

"There’s a lot of addiction needs. Fentanyl drugs was a total game changer, and there are deaths every single day from this really terrible drug, and that changed the landscape of how we approach things. And so we need a fentanyl plan. We need drug addiction services. We need resources. We need more housing, but it’s going to take everybody," Woo said.

As for whether the CID is surviving or thriving — Woo didn’t hesitate.

"I think we’re surviving right now, and we would love to be thriving. And we all remember what this community was like five or seven years ago," Woo said. "We want to go back to that time when this was a jewel of a neighborhood, and people felt safe. If we dedicated city, county and state resources, we can get there together, especially ahead of FIFA World Cup and the stadiums are just three minutes away."

"It would be nice just to see some more, you know, plainclothes officers walking the beats. You know, not necessarily in patrol cars, but just being like peace officers and just being part of the community, which I love and cherish," Toda-Peters said.

Police are urging anyone with information about Monday night’s shooting to come forward.

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