King County reports fewest shootings since before the pandemic

Published 9:00 am Thursday, February 19, 2026

In 2025, King County saw a decrease in shootings, and specifically in the fourth quarter of 2025, for the first time in the last five years, Black males did not represent the majority of shooting victims.

According to a report from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO), 2025 was the safest year for gun violence in King County since before the Covid pandemic, with gun violence trending downward for a second consecutive year. In 2024, gun violence began decreasing for the first time since 2018, with gun violence increasing every year since 2019, and peaking in 2023.

The prosecutor’s office reports that 2023 saw the highest numbers with 103 fatal shooting homicides and a total of 1,737 shots fired incidents, while 2025 saw 55 fatal shooting homicides and 1,057 shots fired incidents.

Shots fired incidents

• 2019: 860

• 2020: 1,030

• 2021: 1,429

• 2022: 1,664

• 2023: 1,737

• 2024: 1,615

• 2025: 1,057

There was also reportedly a change in demographics regarding gun violence. According to the KCPAO, youth shooting victims doubled from 2019 to 2024, but in 2025, there was a 61% decrease in the number of juvenile shooting victims from 2024, marking the lowest number seen since pre-pandemic years.

Additionally, while Black males were still the majority of shooting victims in 2025, in quarter four of 2025, the majority of shooting victims were not Black. According to the report, of the 39 shooting victims in the fourth quarter of 2025, 38% were white, and 31% were Black.

According to King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion, the office’s efforts include taking a two-pronged approach to combat gun violence by partnering with law enforcement.

Manion said the approach first uses data to identify and intervene with individuals most at risk before they become victims or perpetrators of violence. Secondly, the KCPAO is identifying those causing the most harm and seeking the necessary accountability to interrupt their harmful, violent behavior, Manion said.

According to Manion, the KCPAO is also spending more time looking at cases involving non-fatal shootings to understand where shootings are happening and why. She said the KCPAO’s goal is to interrupt shooters before they kill somebody.

“We are investing in relationships to build a unified public safety system,” Manion said. “Across my team, law enforcement, local government and community, we are more united than ever in our commitment to tackle gun violence.”