Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes is facing renewed questions after he was out of state when a mass shooting Sunday left three people dead, intensifying criticism over a demanding role that has often kept him apart from his wife and children, who live in Chicago.
The violence erupted Sunday evening at Seattle Center during the annual Bite of Seattle food festival, where police say as many as three shooters exchanged gunfire. Three people were killed and four others were wounded, including bystanders caught in the chaos.
Barnes was not in Seattle at the time of the shooting. The police chief was in Dallas, Texas, attending the annual conference of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, a detail that quickly drew scrutiny as the city responded to one of its deadliest public shootings in recent memory.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes speaks during a vigil a day after the Bite of Seattle food festival shooting at Seattle Center on July 27, 2026, in Seattle, Washington. Three people are dead and four are wounded. (David Ryder/Getty Images)
“I wish that I had a crystal ball and we could schedule gun violence, but we can’t,” Barnes said.
The exchange grew tense when a reporter pressed Barnes on how often he is actually in Seattle, pointing to a PubliCola report that said the chief spends most weekends away from the city, traveling to Chicago, where his family resides.
“Those reports are wrong, do you understand?” Barnes responded, as a staff member stepped in and urged, “let’s go.”
Seattle Police respond to mass shooting on Sunday. (KCPQ)
“I have been here working as hard as I can for this city from the day I got here, you got that?” Barnes said.
When asked separately how much time he spends in Chicago, Barnes said, “Certainly I don’t travel as often as I would like to.”
“Any reports that I am gone every weekend are grossly misstated. I don’t have that kind of money. I’m here in Seattle. I love the neighborhood. I love my community, they love me,” he said.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, right, snapped at a reporter who questioned how often he is in the city, whose family lives in Chicago. (Fox 13 Seattle and Aytac Unal/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Seattle police believed a conflict between small groups appeared to have been the cause of the shooting.
“We believe this teenager opened fire in the crowd, but details are still under investigation,” Democratic Socialist Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said.
INC News has reached out to the Seattle Police Department for comment.
