Seattle police chief resigns amid leadership questions after festival shooting
Seattle police chief resigns over shooting response; interim replacement named amid competing reactions.
Event / Security
Seattle Food Festival Shooting
A shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival on July 28 killed three people and wounded four others. A 15-year-old was arrested with police searching for additional suspects. The incident prompted police communication failures and led to Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes' resignation on August 1, marking the fourth chief change in 2.5 years.
1 reported locations
Daily activity
0 articles0 articles
2026-08-14 to 2026-11-11 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 1 Aug, 02:18 UTC
Follow the documented timeline or explore the related reporting.
What happened
Three people killed in shooting at Bite of Seattle food festival
A shooting occurred at the Bite of Seattle festival at Seattle Center on Sunday around 6 p.m., killing three people including two bystanders and one suspect. Four additional people were wounded, including a 2-year-old boy. The incident was described as gang-related violence.
15-year-old arrested and charged in Seattle festival shooting
A 15-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene of the shooting and charged with first-degree assault with a firearm enhancement and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. The teenager was found carrying a 9mm Polymer80 ghost gun with an extended magazine. Preliminary test results suggest this gun was not responsible for the deaths. Police continued searching for at least one additional suspect involved in the shooting.
Mayor defends police chief resignation, cites multiple factors
Mayor Katie Wilson defended her decision to accept Shon Barnes's resignation on Friday, stating it was 'the right decision at the right time.' Wilson indicated there were multiple factors beyond the shooting response that prompted the resignation, though she did not provide specific details. She credited Barnes with boosting officer recruitment and helping reduce downtown crime.
Seattle City Council members criticize police chief resignation as destabilizing
Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth and council members Dan Strauss, Debora Juarez, and Bob Kettle issued a joint statement criticizing Mayor Wilson's decision to accept Barnes's resignation. They noted that the city has cycled through four police chiefs in two and a half years and expressed concern about instability during the busy summer events season.
Seattle police chief resigns following communication failures after festival shooting
Police Chief Shon Barnes resigned on Thursday, four days after the Bite of Seattle shooting. The resignation came amid criticism over delayed and inconsistent information release following the incident. Nearly five hours passed before authorities released details about whether active threats remained. Mayor Katie Wilson initially incorrectly stated that two suspects had been taken into custody before retracting the statement. Barnes was appointed police chief in December 2024.
Black community organizations urge mayor not to remove police chief
Several Black community organizations, including the Seattle NAACP and the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, issued a letter urging Mayor Wilson not to remove Police Chief Shon Barnes. The organizations stated that Barnes should not be made a scapegoat for complex public safety challenges and characterized the decision as wrong timing.
Andre Sayles named interim Seattle police chief
Deputy Chief Andre Sayles was appointed as interim police chief following Shon Barnes's resignation. Sayles has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience and previously served as chief of police in Madison, Wisconsin. He joined the Seattle Police Department in 2025 as deputy chief of administration and investigations.
Read the coverage
2 alternative perspectives
Three killed in shooting at Seattle food festival; teen arrested
Three killed in Seattle food festival shooting; 15-year-old arrested and charged.