King County sees 'encouraging' reduction in gun violence so far in 2025
King County, WA sees reduction in gun violence
The critical work to curb gun violence in western Washington seems to be paying off, as new numbers show King County is seeing the safest start since before the pandemic.
KING COUNTY, Wash. - The critical work to curb gun violence in King County is proving to be effective. On Tuesday, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office released its quarterly shots-fired report.
For Quarter 1 of 2025, the new numbers showed King County saw the safest start to a new year for the first time since 2021.
"I hope that the community is encouraged. I hope that the community sees that the collaboration among prosecutors and local government, law enforcement and nonprofits is having an impact," said Leesa Manion, prosecuting attorney.
Gun violence trends in Washington
By the numbers:
The report showed there were 60 victims of gun violence in Quarter 1 of 2025, a 41% reduction from Quarter 1 of 2024.
Manion created the Gun Violence Prevention Unit when she took office in 2023. In part of the collaborative effort in preventing gun violence, Manion said a two-pronged approach is key.
"We definitely have to offer interventions to people who are close to gun violence before they become victims or perpetrators of harm. We also have to work closely with law enforcement to identify the individuals who are causing harm in our community. We have to bring necessary accountability, and we have to more importantly, interrupt that behavior. When we do those two things in collaboration we see results," said Manion.
King County saw 278 shots-fired incidents during the first part of 2025, compared to 407 the same time last year, which is a 32% reduction.
"So, that’s a big drop in the number of shooting incidents and we’re really hopeful that trend continues because if that does, that puts us more in the line of heading back towards a sort of pre-COVID level of shootings within King County," said David Baker, director of data and analytics for the prosecutor’s office.
The data showed South King County saw even greater results, with an overall 37% reduction of shots-fired incidents.
How did officials curb gun violence?
What they're saying:
"I attribute some of that decrease to the really good work of the Kent Police Department. They have really taken to heart and have partnered with community-based organizations and our office to implement a two-pronged approach to gun violence prevention, and I think we’re seeing results," said Manion.
The prosecutor’s office has been collecting shots-fired data every quarter since 2017. The latest numbers were reported by the following King County police agencies: Auburn, Bellevue, Des Moines, Kent, King County Sheriff's Office, Lake Forest Park, Renton, Seattle, Tukwila, and Washington State Patrol.
"It gives you real insights into the impacts of things across the community," said Baker. "I love trying to get a grasp of what is happening at that high level and then using that to help inform folks and understand what policies work and don’t work, and what we can do in the future to hopefully keep pushing things in the right direction."
Of the 278 shots-fired incidents, more than 52% of them happened in the Seattle area. Collaborating agencies hope to keep trends low, as King County approaches its most vulnerable time of year for gun violence.
"Historically, we tend to see an uptick in the number of shootings over the course of the summer. Hopefully that will be less than in prior years. So, we’ve got to watch for that," said Baker.
They’re also watching trends in young people involved in gun violence. At 28%, the majority age range of shooting victims was 18-24.
"We know by looking at the first quarter data for 2025 that 12% of the gun violence homicide victims were under the age of 17 and that’s 12% too much," said the prosecuting attorney.
Compared to Quarter 1 of 2024, the office explained there was a 41% decrease in the overall number of shooting victims. However, Black or African American males remained the majority of shooting victims in both years and the first quarters of the last five years.
"There are communities that are very equipped and experienced in dealing with young people and really talking to them about the seriousness of gun violence and offering them important interventions to keep them away from gun violence, to keep them from becoming victims or perpetrators of harm. I think we also have to look at our laws involving juveniles and guns," said Manion.
What's next:
This critical work in gun violence prevention becomes a bigger challenge as King County and Washington state deal with historic budget deficits, in addition to cuts at the federal level.
Manion said it’s more important than ever to pay attention to available resources and devote them to reducing shots-fired incidents, as it could save more lives.
"But I also know that we have seen results with just the skinny resources that we have in the prosecuting attorney’s office. I won’t even begin to pretend that they are enough, but I can see what happens when we work in collaboration. And we are committed to continuing that good work," said Manion. "We still have work to do, together, to make our communities even safer."
The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Franque Thompson, and data from the King County Prosecutor's Office.
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