Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes snapped at a reporter after facing questions about why he was not in the city during the initial response to Sunday night’s deadly mass shooting.
The shooting broke out at a food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle, leaving three people dead before officers arrested a 15-year-old suspect.
The tense exchange unfolded Monday morning after Barnes and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson finished a news conference providing updates on the investigation and the city’s response to the violence.
Barnes grew visibly angry when South Seattle Emerald reporter Connor Nash asked why the police chief had not appeared at the city’s first press briefing on Sunday evening.
Video shared on X by independent reporter Jonathan Choe showed Barnes standing face-to-face with Nash as he pushed back sharply: “Let me tell you something. I don’t have to tell you where I go. I had a medical procedure on Friday.”
“I have been here working as hard as I can for this city, from the day I got here. You got that?” Barnes said during the confrontation.
Nash replied, “But there are reports that you’re not in town often,” prompting Barnes to answer: “The reports are wrong, do you understand?”
When Nash tried to ask another question, a staff member stepped in and repeatedly told Barnes, “Let’s go,” while guiding the police chief away from the reporter.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes lost his cool after South Seattle Emerald reporter Connor Nash questioned why he wasn’t at the city’s initial Sunday evening press conference
The heated confrontation came after Police Chief Shon Barnes and Mayor Katie Wilson wrapped up a Monday morning press conference updating the public on the shooting
Police now say there were at least three suspects involved in the shootout, one of them was among those killed in the violence.
In a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, where a 15-year-old arrested in the case did not appear for a scheduled initial appearance Monday, police said they believe there were at least three shooters, rather than two: the 15-year-old; an acquaintance who died at the scene; and ‘at least one other unknown suspect.’
‘Based on the evidence at the scene, investigators believe’ the 15-year-old ‘and one of the deceased engaged in a gunfight with at least one other unknown suspect,’ the document said.
The teen was being held in juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault ahead of the scheduled court appearance, Mayor Katie Wilson said at a news conference.
It was not immediately clear why the teen did not appear in court.
Shots were fired on Sunday at 6pm in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, leaving three people dead and at least four others injured.
Two people died at the scene and a third died at a hospital. They were described as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a woman, 56.
The four wounded included a two-year-old boy, who was in satisfactory condition Monday.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, center, and Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, left, attend the vigil for victims the day after a shooting at Seattle Center
Barnes speaks at a press conference from a 2024 shooting
Police attend to a person after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival
Police officers detain a man near Seattle Center
The entrance to ‘Bite of Seattle’ is seen as police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center
The others – two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39 – were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.
One of the victims was walking a bicycle when struck, the court document said. The toddler was with his mother.
The annual three-day festival draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers to Seattle Center, a sprawling park and event space in the shadow of the Space Needle.
Many attendees rushed into campus buildings or ran from the park at the sound of the shots.
