SEATTLE — Newly obtained text messages from Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office provide a behind-the-scenes look at conversations among top Washington politicians during the chaotic aftermath of the mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival, as the public waited hours for official information.
The messages show communications between Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal before they arrived at Seattle Center on the night of the shooting.
The exchange reveals concerns about how Seattle city leaders were handling the response and public communication following the violence.
According to the messages, Jayapal questioned whether she and Ferguson should be at the scene and expressed concerns about Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s leadership as officials struggled to provide updates in the hours after the shooting.
The shooting occurred hours before city officials and Seattle police publicly addressed the incident. A news briefing did not take place until roughly five hours after the violence, leaving the public, victims’ families and media awaiting details.
Tensions escalated after Seattle Police Detective Brian Pritchard said the briefing had been delayed to allow “dignitaries” to arrive, according to the text exchange.
Jayapal strongly objected to that explanation. In one message to Ferguson, she wrote that she was directing her staff to contact Pritchard and described the situation as “outrageous” after hearing that the delay was attributed to waiting for elected officials.
“I’m having my team call Brian and say this is outrageous that someone said the delay was because of dignitaries,” Jayapal wrote. “You may want to have your folks do that also.”
Wilson has since acknowledged shortcomings in the flow of information following the shooting and accepted some responsibility for delays in communicating with the public.
The Seattle Office of Inspector General is expected to release findings in the coming weeks examining what went wrong during the response to the mass shooting, including decisions related to public messaging and the timing of official briefings.