Seattle police recovered 19 spent shell casings Friday night after responding to a report of gunfire at 26th Ave SW and SW Brandon St in North Delridge, an intersection that has weathered repeated bursts of violence over the past two years. No injuries or property damage were reported, and officers on scene had no description of the shooter or shooters as the investigation got underway.
According to West Seattle Blog, 911 calls led police to the location, where an officer told dispatch there were 19 casings so far as the search continued. The outlet reports that the intersection has experienced multiple previous gunfire incidents, a pattern that has made the corner a familiar name in local crime coverage.
A Corner With a Violent Track Record
This is not the first time gunfire has erupted at 26th Ave SW and SW Brandon St. In March 2025, more than 100 shots were fired there in a single night, damaging surrounding homes and vehicles, according to West Seattle Blog's reporting at the time, which noted residents and police had pointed to ongoing gang turf disputes on the block.
More recently, on July 12, 2026, officers responded to another shots-fired report at the same intersection inside the Delridge Greenbelt, where 911 callers reported seeing four people enter the wooded area shortly before gunfire erupted, per Westside Seattle. Officers recovered ballistics evidence from that scene as well. The same corner sits along the 26th Ave SW Neighborhood Greenway and borders the Brandon Street Natural Area greenbelt, a route The Urbanist describes as a primary bicycle and pedestrian corridor running parallel to Delridge Way SW.
Citywide Numbers Down, but Local Anxiety Persists
The renewed gunfire comes even as broader crime statistics point in a more encouraging direction. Seattle Police Department data through June 2026 showed citywide shootings dropped by more than 20% and homicides fell over 30% compared to the first half of 2025, according to KING 5. Statewide, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs reported violent crime fell 13.8% and homicides dropped 21.6% in 2025 compared to the prior year, per FOX 13 Seattle.
Those gains haven't erased the sense of unease that repeated gunfire brings to a stretch of greenway used daily by cyclists, walkers, and parkgoers. The Southwest Precinct, which patrols North Delridge and all of West Seattle and South Park from its headquarters on Delridge Way SW, continues to field these calls even as staffing remains stretched thin statewide. Washington ranked last in the nation for commissioned officers per capita in 2026, averaging roughly 1.37 officers per 1,000 residents, FOX 13 Seattle reported.
Investigators Lean on Community Tips
That staffing gap helps explain why Seattle police continue to lean heavily on residents' doorbell cameras and security footage when shots-fired calls turn up shell casings but no victims or suspects. Anyone with information or video from the North Delridge area is asked to contact the Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000 or the Southwest Precinct's non-emergency line at (206) 625-5011.
The Seattle Police Department did post a notably improved 86% homicide clearance rate in 2025, up from 57% the year before, a jump the department has credited in part to its Real-Time Crime Center, which launched in May 2025. Whether that same investigative capacity can crack the pattern of unresolved shots-fired calls at 26th Ave SW and SW Brandon St remains to be seen, as no arrests have been announced in connection with either the July 2026 or Friday's incident.
Friday's gunfire also follows a string of other West Seattle shooting reports this month, including a shots-fired call near California Ave SW and gunfire that struck a home near Luna Park. Whether these incidents are connected remains an open question for investigators, who have not tied any of the recent West Seattle cases together publicly.
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