Mayor, police give update on Seattle Center mass shooting — Full press conference

[0:01] Right now, tensions are high, and there's a lot of time-sensitive work to do. [0:04] I've asked Assistant Chief Nicole Powell, who is in charge of the Investigation Bureau, [0:08] to present with me this afternoon. She's heading up this investigation. [0:12] We continue to make sure that victims receive the care and the resources that they need. [0:17] Our immediate priorities are to help families remain safe, reduce the risk of future violence, [0:22] and make sure that they have practical and emotional support during these first days [0:26] following the shooting. As a recap, shortly after 6 pm last night, officers responded to [0:32] the sound of gunfire. They were supporting the bite of Seattle, and within seconds, [0:36] took a suspect into custody. We shared this morning that a 19-year-old man, a 44-year-old man, [0:43] and a 56-year-old woman were killed. Two died at the scene, and a third passed away at Harborview [0:50] Medical Center. Official identification will come from the King County Medical Examiner's Office, [0:56] and we expect the names of the deceased to be released this afternoon, really anytime. [1:01] Our Human Services Department victim advocates team is working with the Seattle Police Department [1:05] to support the needs of the victims and their families. We are so grateful for their incredible [1:10] work and dedication. We now know that at least two people exchanged gunfire outside the Seattle [1:17] Center Armory. One is in custody, and a second has been identified as the 19-year-old deceased man. [1:24] This is new information in our ongoing investigation. Police continue to look for a third possible suspect, [1:31] and please, we're still seeking more information, so if you have information, call the tip line at [1:36] 206-233-5000. Our next steps in this investigation include reviewing bullet casings, [1:46] investigative interviews, following leads that come in through the tip line, and reviewing any [1:50] available camera footage. While the Seattle Center cameras were not located where the scene of the [1:55] crime was, next steps include looking at the video to see if they offer any new information. [2:00] As you are aware, the Seattle Police Department detained a 15-year-old juvenile in connection [2:05] with the shooting, and this individual had their first court hearing at 1.30 p.m. and remains in [2:11] custody. The scene at Seattle Center has been cleared and the grounds are open today. I want to acknowledge [2:18] all of the Seattle Center staff who've been looking after folks and cleaning up. From across the entire [2:23] campus, from security to event staff and everyone who has had to respond and continue working, many often [2:30] invisible in this work, and they are just as traumatized by what has happened as the visitors. [2:35] The team has been unbelievable, working 20-hour shifts. So to our leadership and staff at Seattle [2:40] Center, the city's gratitude is with you all. And I also want to express profound gratitude to our [2:45] police officers who've been working non-stop since this tragedy occurred and are providing regular updates [2:51] to my office. Thank you to the victim advocates team at the Human Services Department and our community [2:56] partners focused on violence interruption who are offering in-home support to help families understand [3:01] and navigate hospital, legal, victim support, and other systems. These teams are also convening [3:07] community to assess the possibility of retaliation, identify ongoing safety concerns, and help the people [3:12] involved navigate those risks. Thank you all for coming. We will continue releasing information as more [3:18] becomes available. And so I want to turn it over to Assistant Chief Nicole Powell to share a few updates on the investigation. [3:24] Thank you. Good afternoon. I am Nicole Powell, the Assistant Chief of Investigations [3:31] for the Seattle Police Department. I want to give you an update on the tragedy at the Seattle Center [3:37] last night. This is all preliminary information subject to change. This investigation is active [3:46] and ongoing. Our detectives are working tirelessly on this case. At this point, we believe this could be [3:54] game related. There were two groups firing in the area near the armory during a bite of Seattle. We believe two of the individuals were associates [4:05] with each other. This is the 19-year-old who passed away and the 15-year-old who was arrested last night. [4:14] There have been a lot of questions about cameras. Our detectives are still collecting and reviewing video [4:22] evidence from buildings around the area. I want to thank our officers who selfishly ran into danger. [4:31] Our detectives and professional staff who are working together on this investigation. These men and women [4:38] serve Seattle day in and day out with pride and dedication. Again, I want to emphasize this information [4:48] that I provide today is preliminary. Once we have additional information, we provide it to the public. [4:55] And if anyone have any video, seen anything, please call our Violent Crimes tip line at 206-233-5000. [5:06] Thank you. Questions? We can take a few questions. [5:12] Has there been, have you all been able to interview the 15-year-old suspect? [5:16] Has the suspect been cooperative? It's an active investigation. I can't give that information right now. [5:23] No? I was wondering if you could say a little bit about what this means to the city of Seattle, [5:29] kind of coming off the high of the World Cup and, you know, the summer of Timothy and a lot of, like, [5:34] lighthearted, good feelings about Seattle and to now have this very terrible tragedy that is making [5:41] international headlines. What does this mean for you and kind of like for this moment in Seattle? [5:45] I mean, I think this is weighing on us all right now, certainly weighing on me. I also just want [5:50] to recognize that we've had a number of tragic incidents of gun violence this year, and all of [5:59] them take very, very seriously. So I think, you know, everyone deserves to feel safe in our city, [6:06] to be safe in our city, in all of our neighborhoods, in all of our public space. And we're going to be [6:12] working as hard as we can to make that the reality because we know that the future of our city, [6:16] its vitality, our quality of life depends on people feeling safe wherever they are in our city. [6:23] So that's my very highest priority. [6:26] Was there any altercation between the 19-year-old and the 15-year-old before this? [6:31] Could there be witnesses here any fighting? Was there anything that you can identify that happened prior to the shooting? [6:38] This is still an after investigation. We're still interviewing witnesses, so it's going to take some time to go through all of that. [6:45] Yeah, listening to your preliminary investigation there, you mentioned that this very well could [6:51] be gang-related. What steps is the city of Seattle taking considering that, you know, there's other [6:57] festivals that are on the horizon here on Oja Fest, different concerts coming up, you know, of course, [7:02] and that's our community and communities across the city where it seems like two people who might not [7:08] have known each other or liked each other, probably knew each other, and they started gunfire. [7:13] What's the city's plan to be able to make public gatherings safe, considering we're in festival [7:19] season right now? Yeah, I mean, I think this is going to be an ongoing collaboration between the [7:24] city, all of our partners, county, Office of Gun Violence Prevention, all of our community partners, [7:29] so it's going to take all of us. And, you know, I think, you know, part of this is having the right [7:33] kind of official presence at events. Part of this is just making sure that we're working with our [7:39] community partners that are doing violence intervention work, so we're going to be making [7:43] this plan together as the days go on. [7:45] There, can you understand definitively related to this shooting? [7:55] No additional information than what was provided earlier today. [8:00] With one outstanding suspect, is there an ongoing threat to the public, [8:05] and can you elaborate more on the relationship between the 15-year-old and the 19-year-old? [8:10] This is an act of investigation, so I'm limited what I can say. What I want is to encourage the [8:16] public who was out there. There was a lot of people. If they have any videos or any witnesses [8:20] seen anything, please call that tip line. We're still trying to ascertain that information. As [8:25] soon as we have it, we're going to make sure we put it out as soon as possible. [8:28] Yeah, I'm just trying to take down some specifics here. So according to the court documents, [8:35] the 19-year-old who later passed away was detained at the same time as the 15-year-old. So those two [8:41] were associated and there's a third person, at least one more person out there that you're still [8:46] looking for, who potentially they were attempting to attack or vice versa. Can you help me understand [8:53] and maybe also how many guns you know were involved? So the information I provided today [8:59] right now is what we have. It's still an active investigation, so I can't provide any additional [9:04] information. Once we get it, we will provide it to the public. According to the court documents, [9:09] the verbiage in the form says that the 19-year-old was a second shooter. Why didn't you guys release [9:17] that this morning? It is an active investigation, I think. Once we get that information, once we get [9:27] the witness statement and videos and obtain more information, it's the information that we put [9:32] out right now. Like I said, it's preliminary. Things are subject to change as the investigation [9:37] goes on. So as we're investigating it, we'll provide more information. Well, I was just wondering, [9:42] because it's obviously on the Super Bowl. So the police already said that. So my question is, [9:51] why did we have to have a second press conference to get that information when we could have got it [9:55] this morning? I mean, I'll just say that my office received that information in the last hour or two. [10:01] So, I mean, things are unfolding very rapidly and we're getting reports that then, in some cases, [10:06] subsequently turn out not to be true. So we're trying our best to be able to provide timely information. [10:10] Go over here since you haven't had a chance yet. Yeah, is there a reason how Chief Barnes isn't [10:14] here? Has he been communicating with you? If you didn't learn about this information that was [10:19] already filed in court earlier today, around noon, or even earlier, potentially, [10:25] how's the communication been? Why isn't he here? I mean, again, Assistant Chief Nicole Powell is here [10:31] because she is the one heading up this investigation and was able to provide us with an update. [10:35] Again, information is going back and forth between multiple parties very fast right now. So, [10:40] you know, we've received that information in the last couple hours and we're able to share it right [10:45] now. Okay, let's do like one more. Go ahead. Where were the guns recovered on scene and have you been [10:50] able to run them to see if they've been stolen, used in any other crimes? It's an active investigation. [10:55] I can provide that information right now. Do you understand why people might be frustrated that [10:58] that's the recurring answer that we're getting today? I understand as we get information that [11:03] we can release to the public, we will provide as soon as we can. So, we'll be back here again at [11:08] noon tomorrow. And as we have more information, then we'll be happy to share it with you all. Quick, [11:14] quick, quick, quick thought before you go. And that was Seattle City Mayor, Mayor Katie Wilson, [11:17] providing an update there.