By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The Central District, Beacon Hill, Chinatown/International District, Ballard, North Seattle, Rainier Valley all have one thing in common — all have had shooting incidents that occurred during the month of October.
Two of the most recent shootings took place either at or in front of Black-owned businesses in the Central Area. A 4 Apple Learning Center, a preschool/childcare center that serves kids 18 months of age to five years old located on 23rd & Jackson, had its windows shattered as assailants shot a 47-year-old man who was talking by the center at the time. Last Friday, The Postman, a privately owned postal and shipping business on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr Way and Union St., was riddled with gunshots in what appears to be a targeted incident.
On Monday, out of safety concerns for the community, The Postman announced that they would be closing their doors for good. Just one year after its founder was shot and killed in front of the store, the family’s reason for the closure is the continued gun violence in the area.
“Yesterday morning, our beloved storefront windows were tragically shot at,” The Postman’s owner KeAnna Rose said in a post on The Postman’s social media page. “It feels like a cruel retaliation for an incident that may have occurred during an unsanctioned candlelight vigil held the night before in honor of our late co-founder, D’Vonne Pickett Jr. It has been just a year since his tragic murder at the same location.”
According to police reports and eyewitness accounts, the shooting at A 4 Apple Learning Center occurred shortly after 2:30 pm on Monday, October 16. Officers responding to the scene found the 47-year-old man on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds and provided aid until Seattle Fire Department personnel arrived and transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition. At this time, no suspects have been identified, and it is unknown what led up to the shooting.
According to Appollonia Washington, co-owner of A 4 Apple Learning Center, the children and staff hit the ground and crawled to safety as gunshots hit the building. While we may not know the full extent of how this horrific scene will impact the people inside the building at the time, we do know that it has renewed a call to action by community members and policymakers alike.
According to statistics from the Seattle Police Department (SPD), the Central Area has experienced a 20 percent rise in the number of people wounded from gunshots during the first five months of 2023, compared to the same time period in 2022.
“I’m horrified to hear what happened,” says King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay. “We were this close, very close to a child being shot, and that is something no one wants to happen, no one wants to see. This is one shooting but it is part of a larger pattern that we are seeing. Seattle is close to its all-time homicide record and the vast majority of those homicides are caused by gun violence.”
Earlier this year, SPD, in response to the increase in gun violence, announced the creation of the new Community Violence Task Force which focuses its efforts to reduce gun violence in four neighborhoods — downtown, South Seattle, Aurora Avenue and the Central District.
According to a joint statement from SPD and the Mayor’s office, “The goal of the new task force, which will involve every bureau of the police department as well as regional and federal law enforcement, is to stem the tide of gun violence.”
Last Thursday, members of the African American community held an event on the corner of 23rd and Jackson to bring attention to this regional epidemic.
The public safety event, organized by the owners of A 4 Apple Learning Center, drew a cadre of concerned citizens and policymakers, including Seattle City Council candidate Joy Hollingsworth and King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, in an effort to voice their concerns and find solutions to the growing problem.
“This [incident] could have been prevented,” says Washington. “I [previously] reached out to the City Council, the mayor, SPD, Metro all trying to put a plan in place to make this a safe space for our community and they failed us.”
“They never answered any of our questions,” says Washington. “There was always a dead end or no reply,” Washington continued. “It took one of my students and myself and my staff to almost get shot for everyone to be woke and wanting to be activated.”
Hollingsworth said that is going to take a total community effort in order to fully address the issue.
“Right now, it is really unfortunate that a lot of the shootings and rise in gun violence that’s been happening in our community is happening close to kids, our schools, our babies, our daycares,” says Hollingsworth. “This has to be an all-hands-on-deck approach to be able to curb the gun violence.”
“So, the event today is [full of] community members, business leaders, daycare owners, people who have lived here for generations and everyone who wants to see change in their communities,” said Hollingworth.
“They want to see change, they want to see short-term solutions, they want long-term solutions,” continued Hollingsworth. “Again, it’s all-hands-on-deck from first responders to our gun violence prevention programs, investments in our youth, and long-term we want economic stability, economic empowerment, and economic mobility for our community.”
Zahilay agrees and says that he will do all that he can to help protect our children and communities from gun violence.
“We have a lot of work to do to end gun violence and to keep our communities safe,” says Zahilay. “It is my number one priority, my top priority. We need to change our perspective on guns. Why do we need so many guns in our community that are easily accessible?”
