Seattle police responded to a report of gunfire in South Delridge around 3 am Saturday after a witness told dispatchers they saw someone firing a gun out of a van window, but officers initially found no evidence at the scene. No injuries were reported. The case has since been handed off to King County Sheriff's deputies after spent casings turned up in a place that changed everything about who's in charge of the investigation.
According to dispatch audio cited by West Seattle Blog, the witness reported spotting spent casings in the bus lane at Delridge Way SW and SW Henderson Street. That detail turned out to be the key to the jurisdictional switch: because the casings were located inside a dedicated Metro transit lane, primary investigative authority shifted from Seattle Police to the King County Sheriff's Office, which holds law enforcement responsibility over Metro buses, transit centers and bus lanes countywide. The county sheriff's office operates a dedicated Metro Transit Police division under contract with King County Metro, giving deputies jurisdiction over transit infrastructure even within Seattle city limits, according to King County.
A Bus Lane Built for Rapid Transit Becomes a Crime Scene
The stretch of Delridge Way SW where the casings were found sits along the RapidRide H Line, a 13-mile bus rapid transit corridor that opened in March 2023 after a $154 million multi-agency infrastructure project, according to the City of Seattle. The intersection's red transit-only lanes were built specifically for that RapidRide corridor, giving the block a distinct physical layout that put the evidence squarely inside Metro's jurisdiction rather than on an ordinary residential street.
If investigators determine someone fired a weapon from inside or near a moving vehicle in a manner creating a substantial risk of death or serious injury, that conduct meets the definition of a drive-by shooting under Washington law. RCW 9A.36.045 classifies drive-by shooting as a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, a charge prosecutors can pursue even when no one is struck, so long as reckless endangerment is established, per the Washington State Legislature.
Part of a Broader Pattern Along the Delridge Corridor
This is not the first time residents near Delridge have reported gunfire with no one hit and no suspect found. Hoodline reported that people along the 7100 block of 18th Avenue SW experienced a similar uninjured late-night shooting in May, when officers collected four spent casings from the street. West Seattle has also seen a cluster of separate shots-fired investigations this August, including a shooting that struck an occupied home on Alki Avenue SW on August 21 and a call near California Avenue SW and SW Brandon Street on August 18, both reported by Hoodline.
Even so, the broader numbers point in a more encouraging direction. Seattle Police Department data reported in August shows a 20% year-over-year drop in citywide shootings and shots-fired incidents compared to the same period in 2025, according to The Urbanist. Countywide, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office recorded 201 total shots-fired incidents in the final quarter of 2025, a 55% decrease in overall shooting victims compared to the same period in 2024. Statewide, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs reported a 13.8% drop in violent crime and a 21.6% decline in homicides between 2024 and 2025, as reported by FOX 13 Seattle.
What Investigators Haven't Said
It remains unclear whether Metro's transit security cameras captured footage of the van described by the witness, or whether King County Sheriff's investigators have identified the vehicle's make or a suspect description beyond what came through on dispatch audio. No arrests have been announced, and the sheriff's office has not released further details as the investigation continues.
