Seattle Council Votes to Advance Gun Violence Reduction Strategy Following Belltown Shootings
Seattle Today Newsroom
September 10, 2026
Picture Credit: Aaron Doucett
In the aftermath of the three violent shootings in the Belltown neighborhood, the Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee approved a new strategy designed to curb local firearm violence. The shootings unfolded within roughly 24 hours over Labor Day weekend, killing three and wounding several others.
On Tuesday, the committee voted 3-0 to forward a resolution asking the mayor to forward a resolution to contract with the National Network for Safe Communities at a cost of $418,000. Council members Bob Kettle, Maritza Rivera, and Rob Saka voted in favour, and Council member Eddie Lin abstained. The resolution asks Wilson to fund the program in her upcoming budget. Sponsored by Rivera, the proposal now moves to the full council for a vote next week. The network, housed at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, promotes a focused deterrence model that pairs offers of services with intervention from trusted community members and direct warnings from law enforcement to the small groups driving the most shootings. Rivera says that the approach has reduced gun violence by 40 to 60 percent in cities such as Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia, while bringing police directly into public safety conversations that other community-driven strategies often leave them out of.
Supporters have also cited previous City Auditor findings indicating that Seattle lacked a comprehensive gun Violence framework in both 2015 and 2025. Councilmember Bob Kettle, who chairs the public safety committee, emphasized that recent incidents of weekend violence underscore how urgently the city needs tangible solutions. Kettle described the current community safety programs, which are the violence interruption and gun violence prevention work led by local organizations like Urban Family and Community passageways, as working in isolation, as they are being kept from traditional public safety agencies like the police and fire departments. He argued that an effective strategy must be inclusive, bringing together city and county departments, officers, prosecutors, community service providers, neighborhood councils, and organizations like the Center for Children and Youth Justice.
Councilmember Rob Saka described Rivera’s proposal as “the next step in our collective journey” toward curbing citywide violence. The Public Safety Committee officially recommended the resolution for adoption, with Councilmembers Maritza Rivera, Bob Kettle, and Rob Saka voting in favour.
Mayor Katie Wilson has stopped short of backing the council’s proposed investment; she stated that her office would explore the concept of focused deterrence. Councilmembers have expressed their disappointment in how long it has taken for a formal mayoral response, while Mayor Wilson is expected to outline her own comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy later this week. The measure now advances to the full Seattle City Council for consideration at its September 15 meeting.
