Some violent crime down in Seattle, but homicides are up
SEATTLE - Data shows some violent crime is down in Seattle, but homicides numbers are 20% higher than last year.
From January to July, there were 35 homicides in Seattle. In the same period in 2022, there was 29.
Seattle Police data shows there was at least seven homicides in the city in August. This past weekend, three people were killed in a mass shooting and six others injured.
"You see the families impacted by this violence it’s unacceptable," said Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz.
Diaz says they recovered five guns at the scene of the South Seattle mass shooting on Sunday.
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"We’re on a path to recover more guns than we’ve ever recovered," he said.
While homicides are up in Seattle, Tacoma and Everett report their numbers are down so far this year.
Data from Tacoma shows nearly a 40% drop in homicides. The most recent data available for Tacoma shows 17 homicides so far this year, in comparison to 28 in the same period.
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Officials from the city of Everett report six homicides in 2023 and 8 homicides in 2022.
According to Seattle Police, assaults and robberies are down this year and so are the total number of shootings.
However, Diaz says while shootings are down, the number of bullets fired at these incidents are increasing.
"That’s why we’re seeing more victims, more bullets are being fired," said Diaz.
Seattle Police tell us they are working on reducing the level of violence in the city by recovering firearms and arresting repeat, and known criminals.