Seattle police found nearly 120 shell casings scattered across a parking lot in the 10000 block of Aurora Avenue North after responding to multiple reports of shots fired around 11 p.m. on Thursday, October 22, 2026. The suspects were long gone by the time officers arrived, and no shooting victims were located at the scene, though several nearby businesses were struck and damaged by gunfire.
Officers were dispatched to the parking lot after callers reported gunshots in the area, according to KOMO News. When officers arrived, they located nearly 120 shell casings in the lot, with evidence showing the gunfire came from both handguns and rifles. Suspects had already fled the scene, and police described those involved only as unknown. The shooting took place at North 97th Street and Aurora Avenue North, a couple of blocks south of Oak Tree Cinemas and BurgerMaster.
Detectives with the Seattle Police Department's Gun Violence Reduction Unit are now investigating the case, and the unit has been deployed to the Aurora corridor. No further details on suspects, motive, or the full scope of the damage have been released.
A Corridor Already on Edge
The October 22 shooting didn't happen in a vacuum. Seattle police were also investigating two separate shootings that occurred within five days of each other in the North Aurora neighborhood, according to KIRO 7. Neighbors along the corridor have said more action is needed as the violence persists despite recent municipal efforts to tamp it down.
About five months before, more than 30 shots were fired during a weekend shootout near North 98th Street that damaged homes and vehicles, as reported by FOX 13 Seattle. Police recovered about 40 shell casings split between both sides of Aurora Avenue after that May 23 incident. Residents in the area had also reported multiple other shootings in the vicinity over the preceding weeks, per the same outlet.
Patrols Ramp Up, Businesses Brace
In response to the string of violence, the Seattle Police Department has been increasing late-night and early-morning emphasis patrols along Aurora Avenue while deploying its Gun Violence Reduction Unit to the corridor. Businesses along the stretch have spent the last year adding their own security measures in response to ongoing safety concerns, according to KING 5.
This is not the first time gunfire has rocked this stretch of Aurora Avenue. Back on July 6, 2024, a gun battle erupted at Aurora Avenue North and 101st Street around 3:33 a.m., involving at least 15 gunshots within five seconds that injured a woman in the leg and left more than 30 shell casings and bullet strikes across several businesses, KOMO News reported at the time. Separately, police also investigated a shooting at a gas station near Aurora Avenue North and North Northgate Way, where a 44-year-old delivery truck driver suffered minor cuts from glass fragments; no suspects were taken into custody in that case either.
Whether the October 22 shooting connects to any of these earlier incidents remains unclear, and investigators have not released a timeline for identifying suspects or determining a motive. For now, detectives with the Gun Violence Reduction Unit are left piecing together what happened from the nearly 120 shell casings left behind — and residents along Aurora Avenue North are left waiting for answers, again.
