King County Sees Continued Drop in Gun Violence for Q2 2025
Stop Gun Violence sign at a vigil for Amarr Murphy-Paine at Garfield High School. (Photos: Jordan Somers)
New data released by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office confirms a sustained multi-quarter decrease in gun violence, with the second quarter of 2025 (Q2 2025) marking the lowest levels of firearm homicides and injuries for this period in the past five years. This positive trend follows a downward trajectory that began in 2024 and continued through the first quarter of 2025.
Key Highlights from the Q2 2025 Report:
Overall Reduction: Q2 2025 saw the lowest number of shots fired incidents since Q2 2021, with 278 incidents reported. This represents a nearly 100 incident decrease from Q2 2024 (373 incidents) and a 40% decrease compared to Q2 2023 (465 incidents).
Victim Numbers at Five-Year Low: The number of firearm homicide victims (14) and non-fatal shooting victims (55) in Q2 2025 are at a low not seen since prior to Q2 2021.
Compared to Q2 2024, there was a 22% drop in firearm homicide victims and a 33% drop in non-fatal shooting victims.
Both incident numbers also experienced more than a 50% decrease from Q2 2023.
Demographics of Victims: Of the 69 shooting victims in Q2 2025, approximately half were identified as Black or African American, 90% were male, and the majority were between the ages of 18-24. Notably, Black or African American males have consistently remained the majority of shooting victims in Q2 over the last five years, despite the overall decrease in victims.
Geographic Breakdown: In Q2 2025, 52% of overall shots fired incidents occurred in the Seattle area, while 44% took place in South King County. While South King County historically surpassed Seattle in incidents from Q2 2021 through Q2 2023, Seattle has seen slightly more incidents in the last two years. Both areas experienced a decline in incidents since Q2 2024, with South King County seeing a 51% decrease since Q2 2023.
King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion emphasized that these sustained decreases are not a "fluke," highlighting the ongoing efforts to combat gun violence. One such initiative is a new partnership launched in November 2024 in Kent, involving the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, the Kent Police Department, the Latino Civic Alliance, and Project Be Free. This multi-pronged approach focuses on prevention, intervention, and enforcement through:
Solving non-fatal shootings.
Identifying and engaging with individuals most at risk of becoming gun violence victims or perpetrators.
Direct outreach to at-risk populations by Project Be Free and the Latino Civic Alliance.
Law enforcement and prosecutors actively working to identify and prosecute perpetrators, with renewed emphasis on non-fatal shooting cases to interrupt potential cycles of violence.
This collaborative strategy appears to be yielding positive results, contributing to the continued decline in gun violence across King County. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office continues to share information and data with law enforcement and local government leaders to further address gun violence in the community.
For more detailed information and previous reports, visit www.kingcounty.gov/gunviolencedata
