SEATTLE — Stray bullets pierced at least two homes in South Seattle’s Rainier Vista East Tuesday night, sparking calls for action from local leaders and residents.
Five bullets struck one residence, according to a homeowner who declined to be identified due to safety concerns. A neighboring home was also hit, with one bullet traveling through a bathroom window and lodging into the window frame. A security camera captured the sound of the gunfire.
“This happened while I was home with family putting our two kids to bed,” the affected neighbor said.
The incident has intensified focus on gun violence in Seattle City Council District 2, where two candidates for the upcoming election say the problem has reached crisis levels.
“I jumped into this race because of gun violence. We live right off of Rainier Avenue, and we experience gun violence almost every other week,” said Adonis Ducksworth, a District 2 candidate.
Eddie Lin, also running for the District 2 seat, said the area faces disproportionate violence.
“I live half a mile from here, and so I regularly hear the gunshots,” Lin said. “District 2 has the highest number of shots fired anywhere in the city.”
Ducksworth pointed to troubling statistics.
“For a district that only makes up 13% of Seattle’s population, we account for over a third of the gun violence,” he said.
Residents say Tuesday’s shooting is part of a growing pattern.
“This isn’t just a one-off incident, you know, I think it’s a problem. It’s been growing over time,” one neighbor said. “When the gunfire gets close to your home, you feel like you need to do something.”
The candidates offered their approaches to addressing the violence.
Lin called for collaboration, saying, “we need a comprehensive approach. We need to be working hand in hand with the police department, with the Seattle Housing Authority and with local neighbors.”
Ducksworth advocated for addressing underlying causes, saying, “we have to look at what some of the root causes of gun violence are, and then we have to think about how we want to treat them. We have to treat this like the public health crisis, that it is.”
Neighbors say they are receiving support from the police department through regular public safety meetings. A meeting is scheduled for tomorrow to discuss this week’s gunfire incidents.
Despite the concerns in District 2, overall reports of gunfire are decreasing countywide. King County reported 278 shots-fired incidents in the first quarter of this year, down from 441 during the same period last year. However, prosecutors say Seattle accounts for 52 percent of these incidents.
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