Mass Casualty IncidentsVersion 3

Three Killed in Shooting at Bite of Seattle Food Festival; Medical Examiner Names the Dead

The King County Medical Examiner's Office identified three people who died after gunfire at the Seattle Center festival on Sunday, 26 July 2026; police say at least one suspect is still being sought.

3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 17, 2026, 10:28 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jul 26, 2026, 10:23 p.m. ETUpdated Aug 17, 2026, 10:58 p.m. ET

The King County Medical Examiner's Office on identified those who died after gunfire at the annual Bite of food festival at Center, near the Space Needle observation tower, in , . The office named Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44, and Ashley Whitehead, 56, and also named , 19, whom police said they believe was involved in the gunfight. The shooting happened on Sunday, 26 July 2026, at about 6 p.m. local time, in the final hours of the three-day free festival, which draws some 350,000 people each year. people were killed and were injured. . Fire Department spokesperson Grace Nuñez said first responders arrived shortly after 6 p.m. and attempted lifesaving efforts on patients but were unsuccessful; the Fire Department said people were pronounced dead at the scene. Police said at the late Sunday briefing that a third victim later died, bringing the confirmed death toll to . Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis said that one person in hospital had died and that a second individual was believed involved and was being searched for. The Police Department said early morning that everyone wounded remained in stable condition at local hospitals. Police believe at least people were involved. A 15-year-old arrested in the case waived an initial appearance in juvenile court in on , and a judge ordered the teenager held in juvenile detention pending trial. One suspect is thought to have been killed at the scene: one shooter, aged 19, died there. Police are searching for at least one other suspect, who remains unknown. Mayor Katie Wilson thanked "the police officers who responded to the scene and took a suspect into custody" and said police continue to look for a third possible suspect. On Sunday, the police department waited hours to share with the public that one shooter had been arrested and that they believed another to be on the loose. Earlier on Sunday, Police said on X there were "multiple shooting victims" after shots were fired at the Center. At a news conference on afternoon, Police assistant chief of investigations Nicole Powell said preliminary information indicated the shooting may have been gang-related, with groups firing at each other, and described those involved as "associated with each other." Deputy chief Andre Sayles said " people were shooting at each other," and Assistant Chief Davis said "there were people who we believe were shooting at each other" and that there was "no outstanding threat to the community." Those are investigators' stated beliefs and preliminary information, not established findings. The incident is no longer active. The Police Department is leading the investigation, with the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; State Patrol SWAT; the Fire Department and its medic team; the King County prosecutor's office; and the King County Medical Examiner's Office also involved. Wilson called it "an act of horrific violence" and said: "Impacted families are living through the worst moment of their lives, and an entire community is trying to understand how a gathering built around culture, connection, and joy ended in gunfire. No one should have to weigh the risk of being shot before attending an event, gathering with friends, or experiencing their city." She said "our attention belongs to the people whose lives were taken, those fighting to recover, and the families beside them," and that "in the days ahead, we will establish what happened and be transparent with the public about what we have learned." Police Chief Shon Barnes said officers "as well as members from the fire department medic team ran toward gunfire in an attempt to render lifesaving aid and to disarm someone who was actively firing a weapon into a crowd." Governor Bob Ferguson said: "My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe." U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, said: "We are grateful to law enforcement at SPD and first responders who are at the scene and working hard." Vendors were allowed back onto the Center campus on morning to collect equipment, and a vigil with a moment of silence to honor those killed was held there on night.

Earlier reports

Aug 17, 2026, 10:43 p.m. ET
Seattle police say 19-year-old who died at food festival was involved in the gunfire
Seattle police said they believe Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19, who died at the scene of the shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival, was involved in the gunfight. His name was released by the King County Medical Examiner's Office, which on Monday also identified the two other people killed as Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44, and Ashley Whitehead, 56.
The shooting happened at about 6 p.m. on Sunday 26 July 2026 at Seattle Center, near the Space Needle observation tower, in the final hours of the last day of the annual Bite of Seattle, a free three-day food festival that draws some 350,000 people each year. Three people were killed: police gave that death toll at a late Sunday briefing, when Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis said a person who had been taken to hospital had died. The Seattle Fire Department said first responders arrived shortly after 6 p.m. and attempted life-saving efforts on two patients at the scene without success; fire department spokesperson Grace Nuñez said those efforts were unsuccessful. Four people were injured; Harborview Medical Center spokesperson Susan Gregg gave the number transported. Early on Monday the Seattle Police Department said everyone wounded remained in stable condition at local hospitals.
Seattle Police said on X on Sunday that there were "multiple shooting victims" after shots were fired at the Seattle Center. Davis said late on Sunday that a second individual was believed to have been involved and was being searched for, and that there was "no outstanding threat to the community." Police said on Sunday night that one suspect had surrendered at the scene while another remained at large. The department waited five hours to tell the public that one shooter had been arrested and that it believed another was on the loose.
Police believe at least three people were involved. A 15-year-old arrested in the case waived his initial appearance in juvenile court in Seattle on Monday 27 July and a judge ordered him held in juvenile detention, remanded pending trial. Officers are searching for at least one other suspect, who has not been identified; Mayor Katie Wilson said, "Police continue to look for a third possible suspect." Deputy Chief Andre Sayles said "two people were shooting at each other," and Davis said "there were two people who we believe were shooting at each other." At a news conference on Monday afternoon, Assistant Police Chief Nicole Powell, the department's assistant chief of investigations, said preliminary information indicated the shooting may have been gang-related, with two groups firing at each other, and described those involved as "associated with each other." That is a line of inquiry rather than a finding: investigators have not established what caused the shooting.
Wilson called it "an act of horrific violence" and said: "Impacted families are living through the worst moment of their lives, and an entire community is trying to understand how a gathering built around culture, connection, and joy ended in gunfire. No one should have to weigh the risk of being shot before attending an event, gathering with friends, or experiencing their city." She added: "Gun violence changes families forever. Its trauma reaches far beyond the people struck by bullets. In the days ahead, we will establish what happened and be transparent with the public about what we have learned," and noted the city was "coming off of a week in Seattle where we have had three major incidents of gun violence in just a few days." Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said: "My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe." U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, said: "We are grateful to law enforcement at SPD and first responders who are at the scene and working hard." Police Chief Shon Barnes said officers and fire department medics "ran toward gunfire in an attempt to render lifesaving aid and to disarm someone who was actively firing a weapon into a crowd."
The Seattle Police Department is leading the investigation. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington State Patrol SWAT, the Seattle Fire Department, the King County prosecutor's office and the King County Medical Examiner's Office are among the agencies involved in the response. Vendors were allowed back onto the Seattle Center campus on Monday morning to collect their equipment, and a vigil was held there on Monday night with a moment of silence for those killed.
Aug 17, 2026, 10:28 p.m. ETFirst report
Three Killed, Four Injured in Shooting at Seattle's Bite of Seattle Festival
Three people were killed and four were injured when gunfire broke out at the Bite of Seattle food festival at Seattle Center, near the Space Needle observation tower, at around 6 p.m. local time on Sunday, July 26, 2026. Police gave the death toll at a late Sunday briefing; Harborview Medical Center spokesperson Susan Gregg gave the number of people transported.
The Seattle Police Department said early Monday morning that everyone wounded in the shooting remained in stable condition at local hospitals.
The Seattle Fire Department said it responded just after 6 p.m. local time to reports of a shooting at Seattle Center, and that two people were pronounced dead at the scene despite lifesaving efforts. Fire department spokesperson Grace Nuñez said first responders arrived shortly after 6 p.m. and attempted life-saving efforts on two patients, but were unsuccessful. Late on Sunday, Seattle Police Department Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis said one person who had been taken to hospital had died, bringing the death toll to three, and that a second individual was believed to have been involved and was being searched for.
The King County Medical Examiner's Office identified the three people who died on Monday as Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44; Ashley Whitehead, 56; and Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19. Police say one shooter, aged 19, died at the scene. The material available for this report does not state whether Semo is the person police describe as that shooter.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said: "Our officers, as well as members from the fire department medic team ran toward gunfire in an attempt to render lifesaving aid and to disarm someone who was actively firing a weapon into a crowd."
Mayor Katie Wilson called the shooting "an act of horrific violence" and said an entire community was "trying to understand how a gathering built around culture, connection, and joy ended in gunfire." She added: "Impacted families are living through the worst moment of their lives" and "No one should have to weigh the risk of being shot before attending an event, gathering with friends, or experiencing their city." Wilson also said: "We have far too much gun violence in this city and in this country. And we're coming off of a week in Seattle where we have had three major incidents of gun violence in just a few days. We have a lot of work to do as a city and as a country to make this better." She said the city would "establish what happened and be transparent with the public about what we have learned."
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said: "My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe." U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, said: "We are grateful to law enforcement at SPD and first responders who are at the scene and working hard."
What set off the shooting has not been established. Seattle Police Department deputy chief Andre Sayles said "two people were shooting at each other," and Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis said "there were two people who we believe were shooting at each other." At a Monday afternoon news conference, Seattle Police assistant chief of investigations Nicole Powell said investigators believe the shooting may have been gang-related, with two groups firing at each other. That is a line of inquiry police have described, not a stated finding.
On suspects: one 15-year-old is in custody and held in juvenile detention; one shooter, aged 19, is dead; and police say at least one other suspect is unknown. On Monday, the 15-year-old waived his initial appearance in juvenile court in Seattle and a judge ordered him held in juvenile detention. Davis said there was "no outstanding threat to the community," and the incident is not active.
Agencies involved include the Seattle Police Department, which is leading the investigation, the Seattle Fire Department and its medic team, the King County prosecutor's office, the King County Medical Examiner's Office, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Washington State Patrol SWAT.
Vendors were allowed to return to the Seattle Center campus on Monday morning to collect their equipment. A vigil was held at Seattle Center on Monday night, with a moment of silence to honor those killed.
No standing public safety instruction and no tip line for people with information appear in the material available for this report; if police issue either, this story will be updated. This story is developing.

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Revision history

Version 318 Aug 2026, 02:58current
Added the conflicting casualty figures as sourced ranges, the police instruction to avoid the area, the disagreement over whether the scene remained active, festival attendance context, and the tip line as published by both outlets.
Version 218 Aug 2026, 02:24
Added the conflicting casualty figures and attributions, festival attendance context, the official instruction to avoid the area, the conflict over whether the scene remained active, and the police tip line; dropped the 'developing story' line.
Version 118 Aug 2026, 02:28current
First published.
Version 118 Aug 2026, 02:43current
First published.
Version 118 Aug 2026, 01:59
First published.

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