SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has announced a new citywide plan to reduce gun violence ahead of today’s city council meeting.
The announcement comes over a month after the Bite of Seattle shooting at the Seattle Center, where three people were killed and four others were injured. In the aftermath of the shooting, Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes was fired, and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has come under fire for a lack of communication during the immediate response.
In her plan released today, Mayor Wilson says her office plans to combine law enforcement, emergency response, community intervention programs, youth services and public health partnerships under a single coordinated strategy. The plan is designed to improve how the city responds to shootings while investing in programs intended to prevent violence before it happens.
“Seattle will not accept gun violence as inevitable,” Wilson said in announcing the plan, which would reorganize existing city resources and direct new investments proposed in the city’s 2027-2028 budget.
Last Friday, Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles said he was delaying the release of messages sent between department staff on the night of the mass shooting at Bite of Seattle to “ensure investigative leads are not disclosed.”
Sayles said the public was owed the release of the “full scope of communications that night.” He did not include a timeline for when the public could see the department’s internal messages.
The news comes about a week after the mayor’s office released its internal messaging about the incident. The messages reveal internal debates over messaging, when leaders acknowledged that communications had broken down, and provide some insight into why it took over four hours for officials to address the public.
CARE Department to Lead Gun Violence Response
A key part of the plan shifts Seattle’s community violence intervention efforts into the Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department, which already oversees the city’s 911 communications center. City leaders say the move will allow violence intervention workers to respond more quickly after shootings and better coordinate with police, firefighters and crisis responders.
The proposal includes transferring more than $5 million in annual violence intervention contracts from the Human Services Department to CARE and adding a new director and coordinator focused on gun violence reduction.
Expanded Police and Emergency Response
The Seattle Police Department will increase bicycle patrols in several neighborhoods, including Belltown, North Aurora, Little Saigon, and Rainier Beach. Police also plan to continue growing staffing levels and work with CARE and community organizations on a focused deterrence strategy aimed at reducing gun violence among the small number of people believed to be responsible for most shootings.
The city also plans to continue expanding Community Crisis Response hours, increasing availability from 10 hours a day to more than 18 hours daily.
More Youth Programs and Mental Health Services
The plan includes several investments focused on preventing violence among young people. The city would invest more than $600,000 in a new after-school program at Rainier Beach High School while expanding peer mentoring opportunities and support for community organizations serving teens.
Officials also plan to continue Teen Late Night programs at nine community centers across Seattle, offering supervised activities on Friday and Saturday evenings for teens ages 13 to 19.
In addition, the city says free mental health services will be available for Seattle residents ages 13 to 24, and five new school-based health centers are expected to open in Seattle Public Schools. The plan also continues support for the Seattle Youth Employment Program and expands opportunities for union apprenticeship programs.
New Research Partnerships and Homicide Reviews
Seattle will partner with the University of Washington’s Center for Firearm Injury Prevention to evaluate current violence prevention programs, identify gaps in services, and develop “data-driven strategies” tailored to Seattle.
The city will also work with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions to launch Seattle’s first Violence Reduction Council. The council will review homicides, identify missed opportunities for intervention, and recommend changes aimed at preventing future violence.
Focus on Firearm Prevention Policies
Beyond city programs, the plan calls for working with state lawmakers on additional gun violence prevention legislation. Priorities include strengthening community violence intervention efforts, exploring firearm restrictions in certain public spaces, reviewing juvenile firearm possession laws, evaluating firearm regulations at Seattle Center and supporting broader public safety efforts along Aurora Avenue North.
City officials say the strategy combines public safety, public health, and community-based approaches with the goal of reducing shootings, improving coordination among agencies, and creating long-term prevention efforts across Seattle.
The Seattle City Council is set to meet at 2 p.m. on Tuesday to discuss and vote on “A resolution declaring the Seattle City Council’s intent for the City of Seattle to implement an evidence-based, comprehensive gun violence reduction strategy.”