King County 2025 data shows 'drastic' gun violence reduction in Kent
KENT, Wash. - King County is seeing promising results in reducing gun violence. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has been collecting shots fired data since 2017. In the 2025 First Quarter Report, the city of Kent saw total shots fired incidents fall to the lowest number since before the pandemic.
"We’ve made such a drastic turnaround," said Rafael Padilla, police chief of the Kent Police Department. "But we aren’t declaring victory. There is still more work we need to do."
The police chief said the "turnaround" came at a crucial time, as the city experienced its highest levels of gun violence in 2022 and 2023.
"We were nearing record highs, and we just kept getting worse and worse. The most troubling concern was it was not unusual to have multiple shootings in a week. It was not uncommon to have two or three homicides in a month," said Padilla.
Big picture view:
Increased gun violence wasn’t just a challenge in Kent. Recognizing the issue, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office launched a countywide initiative to reduce gun violence through two goals: solving non-deadly shootings, and identifying and helping the people whom data shows are most at risk of becoming gun violence victims or offenders.
To achieve the goals, the Kent Police Department started a partnership in November 2024 with the prosecutor’s office, the Latino Civic Alliance, and Project Be Free.
"I think that’s helpful that we can go into people’s homes or out in the community, we meet people where they’re at, it’s in a time of crisis, high stakes, and we can provide some steps to how they can move forward in that instance," said Katya Wojcik, co-founder and executive director of Project Be Free.
South King County saw an overall 37% reduction of shots fired incidents in the first quarter of 2025, with Kent high on the list. Padilla explained his department and community partners were able to make significant progress by following a multi-layered strategy.
The police chief explained that first, the police department had to stabilize staffing with more officers. Next, they stepped away from their reactive approach to gun violence and moved to more intervention and prevention methods. Then, they used data to identify high-crime areas and focused their available resources in those spots.
"Where could we put people in place to intervene ahead of time? Can we identify the likely youth, in particular, that are hanging around in that environment? There’s an opportunity to engage that youth and say, ‘hey, what better way can we help you?’" said Padilla.
Both Padilla and Wojcik explained part of the help provided includes wrap-around services towards holistic solutions.
"We’re not just engaging the youth and doing it in a vacuum. We’re going and trying to do wrap-around for the whole family," said Padilla.
"We have to really think about how can we impact individuals down the line. We might not see those changes initially, but in a lot of times gun violence is part of a family system or a lifespan experience. So, we’re trying to impact our young community members to hopefully not make those same choices," said Wojcik.
The prosecutor’s office reported, to date, that more than 50 people in Kent have been referred for individualized case management and supportive services, with a goal of increasing their safety and decreasing their likelihood of being shot.
The police chief said their work is not over but assured the people of Kent that increasing safety is the police department’s priority.
"It’s still a very small percentage of people that are committing the crime. So, we are better and more efficient than ever before in identifying those people, those individuals and going after them and holding them accountable for their crimes," said Padilla. "I really want our community to know that we’re on the right track."
The Source: Information in this story came from the Kent Police Department, Project Be Free and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE
US Marshals call off search for Travis Decker in Idaho's Sawtooth National Forest
No charges for King County, WA Assessor accused of stalking ex-partner
Prosecutors make charging decision for man arrested after Tacoma Amber Alert
Seattle is the most expensive DoorDash market. It's about to get even pricier
Texas flooding: More than 170 missing, at least 118 dead
Video shows chaos before hit-and-run at illegal drifting event in Auburn, WA
Traffic Alert: Multiple highway closures this weekend in Western WA
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.