Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson faced public scrutiny and internal tension during press conferences held in the wake of a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival that left three dead and at least four injured. Police Chief Shon Barnes also drew attention for his use of the term "small groups" to refer to gangs and for a heated exchange with a reporter.
The shooting occurred Sunday evening, and authorities believe at least three young individuals were involved. One of the deceased, 19-year-old Junior Cee Niko Semo, is believed to have been one of the perpetrators. The victims were identified as Semo, Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44, and Ashley Whitehead, 56.
Villalba, a father of three, was fatally shot at the festival. Whitehead, a mother of two, was injured while waiting in line for cotton candy with her daughter and later died during surgery. Whitehead's family described her as "waiting in line for cotton candy, enjoying the festival with her daughter, Zoie, and future son-in-law, Ben, when the violence began." She was shot and passed away during surgery.
Mayor Wilson's office issued a statement nearly three hours after the shooting, which initially contained incorrect information. The first press conference was delayed twice. During a subsequent press conference on Monday, Wilson addressed a reporter's question about the delays, stating, "There’s a tension here between providing information quickly and providing information accurately, right? So if we had been reporting up to the minute everything that we were hearing in the swirl that happened last night, there would have been a lot of inaccuracies out there that would have confused people and that we then would have had to correct." She added, "We are managing this tension, and we are doing the best that we can to provide accurate information in a timely manner without increasing confusion."
Police Chief Barnes, who was attending a law enforcement conference in Dallas when the shooting occurred, was also questioned about his whereabouts. He stated that he wished he could predict gun violence but stated he had a medical procedure on Friday and had been working hard for the city. When pressed by a reporter about not being in Seattle, Barnes became agitated, telling the journalist, "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?" He further stated that reports of him not being in the city often were wrong.
During the press conference, Chief Barnes referred to gangs as "small groups." He noted that "0.01% of the population is connected to 52 percent of our shootings, most of which are young people," and that the motive for the festival shooting was under investigation but appeared to be "certainly group activity." A 15-year-old suspect is in custody, and a second suspect, Semo, was killed. One additional suspect remains at large.