SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating two shootings and eight incidents of gunfire in just two days’ time.
A 58-year-old man was in court Tuesday afternoon in connection to a shooting on Sunday night. He was arrested for allegedly prowling homes in a north Capitol Hill neighborhood, and firing shots at officers. No one was hurt.
It's one of the 10 cases police are investigating that happened over the weekend. Citywide, there were two separate shootings that left two men injured and eight other incidents involving gunfire.
Victoria Beach, the chair of the African American Community Advisory Council, says what happened over the weekend worries her.
“I've been on my block 41 years, and we never had this problem. Never,” Beach said. “This isn't the city I grew up in.”
According to the Seattle Police Department, shootings and shots fired is a problem that's been on the rise. There were 612 verified shooting events citywide last year. That's a 40% increase compared to 2020.
“I take phone calls at 11:30 at night and I'm overwhelmed,” said Beach.
She says in her position as chair of the advisory council, she frequently receives calls from families deeply impacted by gun violence.
"I wish the kids or people who are doing the gun violence can hear the parents, weep not cry. The weeping is horrific. Their lives are changed forever,” said Beach. “I don't know the solution. I don't know if the city has a solution. But we better get on it because there's going to be, I feel, a lot of lives lost.”
Mayor Bruce Harrell said on Tuesday that he is working with his public safety team on strategies and wants to look at the data in all of these kinds of cases to see what more the city can do.