SEATTLE — A Seattle City council member is introducing a proposal to address the violence happening at late-night venues.
The announcement comes more than a month after a deadly shooting in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood.
Since Aug. 17, a family has been mourning the loss of Francisco David Escatell. He was shot and killed inside a nightclub.
"It could have been prevented,” said Francisco’s sister, Caroline Escatell. "Just knowing that he was 22 years old, and he was robbed from our family basically, like someone took him from us."
In 2023, another late-night venue was the scene of another shooting. Three people were killed, leaving behind loved ones with so many questions.
"We are just now sadly united with those families,” said Francisco’s sister, Erika Santana.
"The Seattle police department reports that nightlife-related shootings particularly in connection with after-hour nightclubs account for over 10 percent of all shootings in the city,” said Councilmember Tanya Woo.
Because many of the shootings are happening between the hours of 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Woo said she’s proposing a new tactic: Letting establishments remain open under the condition that the businesses follow the state laws already in place.
"People will still seek places to go between these hours and so why don't we try to make it as safe as possible see what works, what doesn't work,” said Woo who added that she plans to have draft legislation by the end of October.
For a family still grieving, their focus is on preventing another tragedy.
"More regulations in place, that is something that needs to happen because if not these numbers are going to grow, more families are going to go through the same thing that we are going through and I don't wish that on anyone,” Escatell said.
Detectives are investigating the deadly shooting. No arrests have been made.