SEATTLE, Wash. - Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes defended their response after the mass shooting at Seattle Center that killed three and left four, possibly five, other people injured.
An update announcing a shooting, which was first reported around 6 p.m., was not posted by the Mayor until 8:30 p.m. That post contained erroneous information about two suspects being arrested, when only one was in custody. A revised post was made an hour later. A press conference was delayed twice, starting five hours after the shooting at 11 p.m.
Wilson noted the error, saying it was the reason why officials waited.
“My office put out a statement at 8:30 pm, which again included an initial inaccuracy. So again, this speaks to the tension between providing information early and providing it accurately.” Wilson said Monday morning.
“There’s a tension here between providing information quickly and providing information accurately, right? So if we had been reporting up to the minute everything that we were hearing in the swirl that happened last night, there would have been a lot of inaccuracies out there that would have confused people and that we then would have had to correct. So we are managing this tension, and we are doing the best that we can to provide accurate information in a timely manner without increasing confusion,” Wilson said.
Wilson called a second press conference Monday.
“I heard the call this morning for more frequent updates about the shooting last night at Seattle Center and our ongoing investigation. I want to be transparent.” Wilson said.
Barnes said one reason the press conference was delayed is that police had information that a suspect had run into the IMAX theatre and that the search for that suspect ended about 15 minutes before the press conference.
Barnes did not hide that he was absent from Seattle Sunday, saying he was at the National Organization of Back Law Enforcement Officers Conference, where he says two Seattle Police Officers were honored.
“I wish that I had a crystal ball and we could schedule gun violence, but we can’t,” Barnes said.
After the press conference ended, a reporter from the South Seattle Emerald asked him about his schedule and previous reporting about how often he leaves Seattle on Weekends.
“I have been here working as hard as I can for this city since the minute I got here.” Barnes said, adding that, “Those reports are wrong.”
On the work of officers themselves, Barnes said how quickly they responded shows the plan in place was effective in limiting the loss of life. One of the Seattle Police officers apprehended one of the people the officer saw firing the gun, according to court documents.
“The staffing was adequate. The placement was good. That’s one of the first things that I checked on when I got the first call.” Barnes said, “Our officers, as well as members from the fire department and medic team, ran toward gunfire in an attempt to render life-saving aid and to disarm someone who was actively firing a weapon into a crowd.”
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