Harger: There’s no sugarcoating it, Auburn is overrun with gang violence

It’s getting harder to deny what’s happening in Auburn.

Less than a week ago, I reported on the growing wave of shootings and stabbings in the city, the kind of violence that keeps you up at night — if not from worry, then from the sounds of actual gunfire.

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Brittany Reid, who helps run the Auburn Washington Community Facebook page, didn’t sugarcoat it to me.

“There were gunshots here, there was a stabbing there,” Reid said. “It’s been a lot of violence.”

That’s a concise way to sum up what’s been happening in a city where many have long prided themselves on community. But lately, it’s the community’s safety that’s hanging by a thread.

Just last week, I sat down with Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus over coffee to talk about this surge of violence. I asked her what’s going on, and she didn’t dance around it.

“I’ll say it, there are gang wars going on,” she said.

Twelve hours after my conversation with Backus, a man was shot to death right outside that same coffee spot.

Auburn’s seen a bunch of drive-by shootings over the past month, with much of the violence centered around M Street, which eventually turns into 37th Street. In that corridor alone, there are four schools and several daycares. Parents send their kids off to school every morning, hoping they won’t hear that pop-pop-pop of gunfire before the day’s out.

This isn’t just conjecture. People in the neighborhood have shared their security camera footage with me, and it’s as unsettling as you’d imagine. In one clip, taken three weeks ago, you can hear the unmistakable sound of gunshots in the dead of night. In another, taken on Aug. 31, it’s daylight, and the gunfire rings out again. And early last Saturday? More gunshots — so many I couldn’t even keep count.

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Let’s be honest, how would you feel if this were your neighborhood? If this were your routine? Walking your kids to school while wondering whether it’s just another day before someone else is caught in the crossfire?

The city’s resources are stretched thin. Mayor Backus said Auburn needs at least eight more officers on the streets. However, when you factor in those away at training, on leave, or otherwise unavailable, the mayor estimates the city is down approximately 30 officers for patrol.

Thirty officers. That’s a gaping hole in a city already in crisis. Not enough cops, and criminals who know it. The gang members seem to have gotten the memo and are acting accordingly.

Brittany Reid and others in the community are more than worried — they’re scared sick. The frequency of shootings is rising, and those four schools are back in session. It’s hard to feel safe when the crime maps are showing your street as a hot spot for gunfire.

“Don’t come here. The crime map will tell you ‘don’t come here,'” Brittany said with her voice shaking, a statement that feels more like a resignation than a warning.

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And here’s the part that frustrates me: This isn’t some inevitable downturn or a vague trend we’re powerless to stop.

Auburn’s crime surge is fixable, but only if they stop treating it like it’s too big to handle. Gunfire shouldn’t be the new normal. This city needs resources, leadership and a commitment to bringing safety back to its streets — before an innocent person pays the price.

Charlie Harger is the news director for MyNorthwest and KIRO Newsradio. Follow Charlie on X here and email him here.

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