‘It’s been really hard:’ Girlfriend of father killed near Magnuson Park speaks out
Sep 10, 2024, 4:36 PM
Skylar Johnson killed in a shooting near Magnuson Park. (Photo courtesy of Johnson's family via GoFundMe)
(Photo courtesy of Johnson's family via GoFundMe)
There’s still no arrest in Sunday’s fatal shooting of a 23-year-old father in Seattle’s Magnuson Park neighborhood. His family said Skylar Johnson was killed simply for asking a group of people outside his apartment to hold down the noise so his two-month-old daughter could sleep. It was 3:30 in the morning.
“He got up and he went outside to tell them to get lost and try to scare them off the porch,” Johnson’s girlfriend said. “He tried to chase them off and make sure they left. Then I heard the shots.”
Previous coverage: Shooting in Seattle’s Sand Point neighborhood Sunday leaves one dead
Johnson’s girlfriend spoke for the first time, exclusively to KIRO Newsradio and MyNorthwest about what happened the morning her life and her daughter’s life were changed forever.
“I knew immediately what happened because I heard the arguing and heard the gunshots,” she said. “I was just praying it wasn’t what I thought it was, but unfortunately, it was. I ran outside and he had been shot. I tried to do CPR and asked people to call the police. By the time they get there, there was nothing they could do.”
She said he had been hit three or four times in his torso.
“It’s been really hard,” she said. “I never thought I’d be doing this without him. I’ve just been feeling like I was robbed and he was robbed of the experience of family.”
Now, she said she will try to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and figure out how she and her daughter can move forward.
“I just wish people weren’t so quick to kill because, usually, it’s not that serious,” Johnson’s girlfriend said. “People are shooting before thinking, before talking. Kids are killing kids. Parents are being taken away from their kids. You never think it’s going to touch you, and then it does.”
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The family has a GoFundMe set up to help with funeral expenses. Click the link below if you’d like to help:
Fundraiser by Michael Trepp: Support Skylar Johnson’s Family After Tragedy
If anyone has information about this incident, please call SPD’s Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Incident 2024-254963/North Precinct.
James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.
