15-year-old critically injured in accidental shooting inside car on Aurora Avenue
Jun 24, 2026, 4:38 PM | Updated: Jun 25, 2026, 11:13 am
Screenshot of a traffic camera capturing the police response to the Aurora shooting injuring a 15-year-old boy. (Photo courtesy of Seattle Department of Transportation)
(Photo courtesy of Seattle Department of Transportation)
Seattle Police Department (SPD) is investigating a shooting that left a 15‑year‑old boy seriously injured in North Seattle late Tuesday night in a corridor long plagued by gun violence and the trafficking of underage girls.
Officers were called just before 10:50 p.m. Tuesday to reports of a shooting near N. 93rd Street and Aurora Avenue N., according to SPD. While they were on the way, the call was updated, and officers were directed to the sidewalk outside a business at the corner of Aurora Avenue N. and N. 105th Street, where Seattle Fire Department (SFD) crews were already on scene of an unrelated medical call.
When officers arrived, they found SFD medics treating a 15‑year‑old boy with a gunshot wound to the torso. Medics stabilized the teen at the scene and then transported him to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition.
Witnesses initially told officers the victim had been standing on the sidewalk when a dark‑colored sedan pulled up, and a passenger in the car opened fire, striking the teen before the vehicle sped away.
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Investigators believe Aurora Avenue shooting happened inside vehicle
But investigators now believe the shooting actually happened inside the vehicle. Early Wednesday, detectives learned that a passenger in the back seat was manipulating a handgun when it went off, shooting the driver … the 15‑year‑old victim. Police said the shooter then got out of the car and ran away.
Despite being wounded, the teen drove 12 blocks north on Aurora before stopping when he spotted Seattle Fire crews nearby. As he pulled over to get help, several other passengers in the vehicle also ran from the scene, according to police. That account, investigators said, lines up with information from SPD’s Real Time Crime Center.
Detectives with the department’s Gun Violence Reduction Unit are now leading the investigation, working to determine who fired the shot, who else was in the car, and what led up to the gun going off. No arrests had been announced as of Wednesday afternoon.
The shooting is the latest act of violence along the Aurora Avenue North corridor, an area that has struggled for years with rampant gun crime, open‑air drug activity, and the human trafficking of minor girls. Residents and business owners have repeatedly called for more enforcement and long‑term solutions, saying the mix of motels, street prostitution, and weapons has made the strip especially dangerous for young people.
“It’s kind of staggering to me. My mom has lived here for about 20 years. It’s gotten considerably worse, from what she says,” neighbor Eric Williams said. “Reading about the 15-year-old, it scared me. I have a daughter who is about to turn 15. What’s going on, man? What’s the point of it all?”
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Seattle Police Department’s Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233‑5000 and reference incident number 2026‑181792.
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