A key figure in the city’s response to the Bite of Seattle shooting is characterizing the city’s narrative about the response as "not accurate," adding fuel to the fire at City Hall that someone is not being truthful.
One of the key figures in the city’s response to the Bite of Seattle shooting is characterizing the city’s narrative about the response as “not accurate,” adding fuel to the fire at Seattle City Hall that someone is not telling the truth.
Detective Brian Pritchard, who was leading the Seattle Police Department’s public response on site on July 26, was quoted by multiple reporters at Seattle Center as saying the city was holding off releasing information until “dignitaries” arrived on site.
Three people were killed and four others were wounded, including a small child, after a shootout near the Armory on July 26 at 6 p.m. Seattle police have arrested a 15-year-old in connection with the shooting, but he has not been charged with murder. Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles said Friday the killer is likely still on the loose.
But Pritchard told his superiors, in an email dated July 28, that he was upset about the city’s explanation about the lack of information.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and then-Police Chief Shon Barnes disputed that anyone was asked to hold off on a press briefing. Both Gov. Bob Ferguson and Representative Pramila Jayapal appeared at the late Sunday night press conference, and the next day standing next to Wilson. The mayor asked Barnes to resign later that week.
Pritchard wrote in the email that he needed vacation time for the rest of the week, because “If I’m being candid, I really just need the time off to decompress after the Seattle Center shooting incident. I’ve been struggling with the messaging in around the 7/26/26 press briefing. It was discussed during several team briefings on scene that we were waiting for dignitaries to arrive before proceeding with the briefing, which was accurately communicated to our media partners.”
He continued, “Unfortunately, with the press conferences following the 7/26 event it has been communicated that the 7/26 scene press briefing was not delayed while waiting for dignitaries to arrive.”
“This is not accurate," Pritchard wrote.
Pritchard added, “And the conflicting information impacts my credibility with my media colleagues.”
Pritchard’s version of that night became a key conversation point during a nearly two hour Seattle City Council hearing, in which the Public Safety committee reviewed the investigation, response, and broader communication between the City Council and Mayor’s office.
Sayles, along with Captain Randy Ward, and Wilson’s Director of Public Safety Alison Holcomb were peppered with questions.
“We asked that Mr. Pritchard be here. He's not here. I understand that Chief Tyrone Davis was present on site. He's not here,” said Councilmember Debora Juarez.
Pritchard told KOMO News that no one asked for him to appear.
“I'm going to submit to you, Alison, and we both know how this works. I don't think we need an investigation. I think you could tell us right now why there was a five-hour delay. And I think the mayor should have said it on July 26 and every other press conference afterwards,” Juarez said.
Holcomb played defense during most of the hearing, noting that Wilson has called on Monday night for an outside, independent investigation by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for Public Safety.
“What's happening here, is a political question. We're concerned about public safety right now, and that's what we're focused on,” said Holcomb.
“Well, I disagree. I don't think it's a political question. I think it's a factual question,” countered Juarez.
“I will say this unequivocally: that this mayor's office was not communicating with Seattle City Council. I found that her response to how she learned inadequate. I think that you came to the conclusion to do an OIG because we started asking questions and getting documents that, in fact, there was conflicting information,” said Juarez, who also claimed that Wilson was on ZOOM calls with elected leaders that night.
“Quite frankly, people didn't know where the mayor was. She didn't turn her camera on. We don't even know why,” said Juarez.
Councilmember Dan Strauss also said he knew what happened that night within an hour or so of the shooting, because Council Public Safety Chair Bob Kettle had been at the scene and told him about what had occurred.
He pressed Holcomb on who made the call to delay the press conference.
“It doesn't take an OIG investigation to be able to answer those questions today,” Strauss said.
“The question really comes back to: It's not about a press conference. It's about how do we share with the public to allow people to go to sleep, knowing that they're safe that night, and so did the mayor's office at any time slow down, delay, or pause the release of information?” said Strauss.
Strauss added that the situation has also become politically charged.
“With the most information that I've been able to be provided is that the mayor has a different window into the operations of the police department than the council does," Strauss continued. "Yet I haven't been told what she sees through that window. Why this is charged is there's three people dead. Why this is charged is that people Seattleites went to sleep that night thinking that there was somebody indiscriminately killing people at the Space Needle. This is charged because the mayor asked the police chief to resign with very little information, and so the best that I can do is surmise that because there was some communication difference or difficulty, that the chief was asked to resign,” Strauss said.
Strauss cited other shootings where information was released quicker, and also cited the whole episode of an example of communication problems between the mayor and City Council.
Kettle also said, “When the mayor says, 'you know, I have a better window,' what's clear here is that she does not have a better window. She does not have a better window than I do. She does not have a better window than probably the majority of the council.”
Councilmember Rob Saka asked if there was even a suspect description for an active shooter. Sayles said the department was in the process of writing up some warrants and there had been some talk about a suspect in a "blue shirt."
After the hearing, Holcomb was asked by reporters for more clarity about the mayor’s response. She said the independent investigation will help determine what happened, suggesting “there were multiple dozens of people who were engaged in operations that were happening on the ground.”
When asked if there was a direct order from the mayor to delay a press conference, Holcomb replied, “No, there was no direct order from the mayor that I’m aware of.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor's Office told KOMO News Wilson was at her home in Seattle on the night of the shooting and participated in the virtual calls via Teams, but the "app was not recognizing/connecting to her computer camera."
The City Council said another hearing on the issue will be held September 22.
The OIG investigation could take weeks, if not months.
