‘Too many people have too many guns’: Seattle mayor addresses concerns about city’s violence, safety

Seattle residents received more clarity on the city’s plans to address the violent crimes that have affected many communities in the Emerald City. However, the forum created mixed reactions among the public.

PUBLIC SAFETY FORUM

The City of Seattle held its Public Safety Forum at Seattle Central Library, located on 4th Avenue, Thursday at 6 p.m.

A number of leaders with the city participated in the event, including Mayor Bruce Harrell, Police Chief Adrian Diaz, Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Chief Amy Smith, Fire Chief Harold Scoggins, and Human Services Department (HSD) Director Tanya Kim.

During the meeting, Enrique Cerna, the moderator, asked a number of preplanned questions to city leaders, including the mayor.

Harrell addressed several issues and topics, including mental health, staffing shortages within the Seattle Police Department, the limitations of his role, the efforts of state lawmakers, and gun control.

The event comes a day after two shootings in the city’s Central District that left a 17-year-old Garfield High School student injured and a 30-year-old woman dead.

Both shootings happened blocks away in a span of six hours. Police said the shootings are not connected.

“Too many people have too many guns,” he said.

Mayor Harrell said the city seized a record 1,500 illegal guns last year.

Eighty percent of the city’s homicides last year involved guns, he added.

“I’m tired of waiting on the federal government to address this issue,” he said. “How many mass killings do we have to have?”

Harrell said state lawmakers need to give Seattle more flexibility on what it can do to address the violence, adding that ShotSpotter, a tool that aims to detect the sound of gunshots, can help by giving the city valuable data to create impactful strategies.

“I demand the police department to give me data on where there are gunshots in the city. They know I’m bullish on that. I want good data,” Harrell said.

He also addressed concerns around the tool’s camera.

“We will never surveil a Black or brown community as long as I’m mayor. That’s not going to happen. I will protect my community,” the mayor shared.

POLLS

People who attended the forum were asked to take part in a number of polls at the meeting.

The polls asked for people’s input on several issues and topics, including the following:

Do you feel safe in your home/residence?

• 46% of people voted “Very safe”

• 30% of people voted “Somewhat safe”

• 9% of people voted “unsure”

Do you feel safe in your neighborhood?

• 21% of people voted “Very safe”

• 40% of people voted “Somewhat safe”

• 24% of people voted “Somewhat unsafe”

Do you feel safe taking transit?

• 22% of people voted “Somewhat safe”

• 29% of people voted “Somewhat unsafe”

• 23% of people voted “Very unsafe”

Do you feel safe visiting downtown?

• 30% of people voted “Somewhat safe”

• 31% of people voted “Somewhat unsafe”

• 20% of people voted “Very unsafe”

Do you feel safe at social activities (sports, concerts, festivals, etc.)?

• 22% of people voted “Very safe”

• 41% of people voted “Somewhat safe”

• 23% of people voted “Somewhat unsafe”

Do you think Seattle needs stronger firearm regulations?

• 62% of people voted “Strongly agree”

• 14% of people voted “Somewhat agree”

• 10% of people voted “Unsure”

Have you or someone you know been the victim of a violent crime in the last two years?

• 61% of people voted “Yes”

• 30% of people voted “No”

People ranked their safety priorities in 2024:

• Reduce gun violence

• Expand addiction treatment

• Improve youth mental health and safety support

• Hire more police officers

• Addressing property crime

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

Ahead of the meeting, KIRO 7 News spoke with Rudy Pantoja, a concerned grandfather.

“Hopefully, the mayor and our leaders here are going to come up with a plan that will represent safety for everybody, not just north Seattle, but the city as a whole,” he shared.

To address the violent crimes, Pantoja said the city must hold criminals accountable.

“Most important is accountability. If we know somebody is in crisis or somebody that’s a repeat offender committing offenses on our streets, that they’re being held accountable like anybody else,” he shared.

However, his main concern is around student safety, Pantoja stressed to KIRO 7 News.

“These are kids. They need to go to school. They need to know they’re safe. They need to know that somebody isn’t going to sneak into the building and cause harm to our boys, or our girls or our teachers,” he said. “What happened at Garfield is unacceptable.”

After the forum, KIRO 7 News also spoke with several people to get their feedback on the city’s plans.

“I was very inspired by today’s meeting,” said Michelle Merriweather, president and CEO of Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, a nearly 100-year-old non-profit that works with the City of Seattle to address young people experiencing homelessness.

Merriweather said she agrees with city’s emphasis on the need to collaborate with community partners to address the root issue of violence.

“They’re all working together and communicating with each other and that’s working well.” She added, “It takes all of us to create a safe community that we’re all looking for and desiring. It’s not just on them. We all have a role to play to making sure Seattle is safe.”

However, Merriweather said the voices of young people in the community were missing at the forum, which she believes is key to creating a safer community in the future.

“We do all of this for the safety and support for our young people. Their voices weren’t here, and we didn’t talk enough about them, and how we support them to make sure this is a safe community for them. We certainly heard about the things that happened yesterday at Garfield and other places, but again, I think if we’re going to do this for our future, their voices need to be included in all of these conversations,” she added.

We also spoke with K.L. Shannon, who lives in the Rainier Beach community.

She did not agree with the mayor’s plans.

“I came here to learn to see what they’re going to do. I’m not satisfied. I’m not happy,” Shannon said.

“We’re not addressing the root of the issues that need to be addressed.” She added, “How do you support people who are struggling with housing that are houseless? People that are struggling with mental health issues? People that don’t have jobs? People who are dealing with trauma? How do you support that? If you deal with the root of the issues, then we can deal with the escalation of violence.”

Shannon said she also doesn’t support the mayor’s push for ShotSpotter.

The results of the forum’s polls do not reflect the experiences of all communities, she told KIRO 7 News.

“If you looked at the audience. The audience is not very diverse,” she said.

“There wasn’t really any opportunity to even really ask in-depth questions,” she said. “They had their own questions.”

“This wasn’t no real conversation. This was no real dialogue,” Shannon shared.