Gunfire erupted along the 1100 block of Alki Avenue SW in the early morning hours, sending bullets through at least one residential window near Luna Park and Anchor Park before police arrived to find shell casings scattered on the ground. No injuries were reported. Seattle police received 911 calls around 3 am reporting the shots.
Casings Found, No Suspects Named
According to West Seattle Blog, which credited a tipster for the initial report, police radio archives confirmed that evidence of gunfire was found at the scene, including casings recovered from the pavement. The outlet did not report any arrests or a suspect description, and it remains unclear what prompted the shooting or whether the shooter fled on foot or in a vehicle.
The stretch of shoreline near Luna Park carries heavy weight for longtime residents. The 1100 block of Alki Avenue SW is the same waterfront area where dismembered human remains washed ashore in suitcases in June 2020, a case that ended in the conviction and 46-year prison sentence of Michael Dudley, as Hoodline has previously reported. A memorial to those victims was later removed from the nearby park.
A Pattern Along the Alki Corridor
This is not the first time gunfire has interrupted the waterfront strip in recent months. In March, Hoodline reported a drive-by shooting near 61st in the 2700 block of Alki Avenue SW that left a bystander with a shoulder injury while taking cover. An official Seattle Police Department blotter entry from the same month documented a separate drive-by along Alki Beach in which security footage recorded one vehicle firing at another as they passed, leaving multiple shell casings in the street.
Just weeks ago, on July 29, Southwest Precinct officers responded to another gunfire report in the 2700 block of Alki Avenue SW, recovering shell casings and glass shards from a parked vehicle struck during an argument between occupants of moving vehicles, per the Westside Seattle crime report. Other West Seattle neighborhoods have seen similar trouble this year, including gunfire that struck a home on 35th Avenue and damaged pavement on 18th SW, both previously covered by Hoodline.
Crime Data Tells a Mixed Story
The persistent local incidents sit uneasily alongside broader statistics showing violent crime declining across Seattle. Citywide shootings dropped by more than 20% and homicides fell over 30% during the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to Seattle Police Department figures reported by KING 5. Data from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office likewise showed that the first quarter of 2026 recorded the lowest number of shots-fired incidents of any first quarter in four years countywide, a decrease of more than 50% from peak 2023 levels, as noted by The Urbanist.
Yet West Seattle's own numbers tell a more localized story. At a Southwest Precinct Advisory Council meeting in May, precinct Commander Captain Krista Bair reported that officers had logged 34 shots-fired incidents year-to-date across West Seattle even as overall precinct crime had dropped 6%, according to the West Seattle Blog. The gap between improving citywide trends and recurring neighborhood gunfire has left some residents uneasy despite the encouraging macro data.
What Charges Could Apply
Washington law lays out a tiered set of potential charges depending on how investigators ultimately characterize the shooting. Under RCW 9A.36.045, recklessly discharging a firearm from or near a motor vehicle in a manner creating a substantial risk of death or serious injury is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. If the shooting is instead classified as reckless conduct that endangered residents — such as bullets penetrating a window — RCW 9A.36.050 defines reckless endangerment as a gross misdemeanor carrying up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. Separately, Seattle Municipal Code Section 12A.14.071 makes it a gross misdemeanor to willfully discharge a firearm within city limits where people, animals, or property are reasonably likely to be jeopardized.
No arrests have been announced in connection with the early-morning shooting, and investigators have not said whether they believe the shots came from a moving vehicle or elsewhere along the block. The incident adds to a string of gunfire calls that have kept Southwest Precinct officers busy this year, including a shooting at Roxhill Park earlier this week that left a suspect still at large, as Hoodline has reported.
