Through the Static

By Hannah Saunders

Seattle Police responded to a 911 call of a shirtless man walking on South Othello Street and allegedly brandishing a firearm on December 2 at around 1:30 p.m. Officers arrived within minutes and claim they worked to deescalate the situation, but fired 24 bullets— killing the unidentified man and injuring a bystander after several went through a window of a nearby apartment lobby.

“This incident is a gross violation of the safety of Seattlites in their own neighborhood. Using a rifle in a neighborhood surrounded by apartments and an elementary school is clear endangerment of the lives of citizens,” the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR) said.

The elementary school was placed on a lock down yesterday, and the intersection and light rails were shut down in the middle of the day. SPD Chief Shon Barnes held a media briefing yesterday at 3 p.m.

“Officers…attempted to talk to the subject. The subject advanced on the officers. The officers dispatched their weapons: one rifle and one handgun, at which time, it stopped the movement of this person. The person went down still holding the weapon. Officers used a 40 mm sponge round to dislodge the weapon from the person’s hand,” Barnes said.

SAARPR said this shooting comes after SPD excited the Federal Consent Decree, where the department was found to be compliant in categories it was unconstitutionally policing in, including biased policing.

SAARPR is holding a rally at Othello Light Rail Station on December 3 at 5:30 p.m. to demand that SPD release the identity of the victim and officers involved, and fire the officers.

Barnes noted how the King County Investigation Team will be looking into this shooting.

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