Crime

Man Arrested for Murder After Body Found in Tent at South Seattle Homeless Encampment

Seattle Today Newsroom
May 12, 2026
Picture Credit: Richard Bell

A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the discovery of a body inside a tent at a homeless encampment in South Seattle last week, with the King County Medical Examiner ruling the death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the chest.

Officers were called before 9 a.m. on Thursday to reports of a body found in a tent near Cheasty Boulevard S and S Winthrop Street. Police arrived and confirmed a man was dead inside the tent. The area was closed off while investigators processed the scene, and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office transported the body to determine the cause and manner of death. The victim was identified as a 35-year-old man.

On Monday, 11 May, a 46-year-old suspect was taken into custody in a coordinated arrest involving SWAT and the Gun Violence Reduction Unit. He was booked into the King County Jail on suspicion of murder. What led up to the shooting has not yet been determined, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Seattle Police non-emergency line at 206-625-5011.

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