‘She’s fully owning that it wasn’t her fault’: Jake, Spike rip Katie Wilson’s response to Bite of Seattle communication breakdown

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson sat down with KOMO News alongside interim Police Chief Andre Sayles to address the city’s response to the Bite of Seattle shooting that killed three people. But Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, said her answers only raised more questions.

The interview centered on the five-hour communication blackout that left the public without information after the shooting, and Wilson’s decision to force out former Police Chief Shon Barnes. Wilson acknowledged “significant communication gaps” that night but stopped short of taking direct responsibility.

“Seattle deserves clear and fast communication during emergencies, and we fell short of that, so we’re fixing it,” Wilson told KOMO News.

When pressed on the timeline, Wilson said she rushed to Seattle Center after learning a press conference was imminent but that there was “a short delay while we were waiting for the governor and for Congresswoman Jayapal to arrive.”

“And so that — totally own that, right?” Wilson said.

Jake and Spike weren’t buying it

Jake seized on the phrase immediately.

“All that Katie Wilson is trying to do here is to not take blame,” Jake said. “And she’s fully owning that it wasn’t her fault.”

“It’s so brave of her,” Spike joked.

The two mocked Wilson’s framing throughout the segment, with Jake offering his own translation of her remarks.

“She turns around and goes, ‘I just want everyone to know that I was not to blame, and I’m totally owning that it was somebody else’s fault,'” Jake said.

When the KOMO interviewer asked whether the breakdown was a failure of the police department, the mayor’s office, or both, Wilson called it a “shared responsibility.”

“‘There’s a shared responsibility because there was a gap in communication because nobody informed me, so it’s not actually my fault, but I’ll totally own that it wasn’t my fault,'” Jake said, paraphrasing. “‘I just want you to know that.'”

Spike compared it to breaking a lamp as a kid.

“Did you ever play football in the living room when you were a little kid?” Spike asked. “Did you ever break a lamp? You didn’t admit to a shared responsibility of said broken lamp?”

Top three in SPD chain of command were all out of town

Spike noted that Barnes has said the Seattle Police Department had a chain of command in place, but the night of the shooting, the top three people in that chain were all out of town.

“It’s the summertime in Seattle, it’s holidays,” Spike said. “But that doesn’t mean — I know how phone trees work, somebody is next up. In the chair, on the horn.”

Jake questioned how that’s even possible in 2026.

“There’s no Zoom? They don’t have Zoom in wherever he was?” Jake said.

“I’ve got cell phone coverage when I’m flying back in steerage,” Spike added. “In the middle seat between two huge people. I can still get a phone call out. I can still make sure the city’s alerted.”

Wilson won’t say why Barnes was forced out

Wilson was also asked why she forced Barnes to resign. Her answer was brief.

“It was my judgment that that was the right call for public safety, for our police department, and for the city,” Wilson said.

When asked if she had discussed removing Barnes before the shooting, Wilson declined to elaborate, calling it a “personnel issue.”

Jake and Spike said the non-answer was telling.

“What did she see in that secret window?” Jake asked, in reference to Wilson’s comment that she had a “different window” than the city council. “‘I was peering through a secret window, and I saw something that I cannot tell you, but it was not good.'”

When the interviewer asked whether Wilson provided the city council with a written explanation for the firing, Wilson repeated: “We followed all required procedures.”

“Man, she’s good at this,” Jake said.

“Good on you, communications team,” Spike replied. “Stick to the script.”

Sayles says investigators are looking at two persons of interest

Sayles told KOMO that investigators are now looking at two people in connection with the shooting. He stopped short of calling them suspects.

Spike said he understands the caution but questioned why the individuals haven’t been brought in for questioning.

“You’ve got people of interest, maybe multiple,” Spike said. “Don’t want to call them suspects. Bring them in. I can’t believe that is too invasive.”

Jake agreed.

“I’m not saying you have to arrest them,” Jake said. “What I do think is totally reasonable: you lean on them a little bit. You let them sweat it out.”

New emergency protocol amounts to hourly updates

Wilson announced that a new directive is now in place requiring public notifications on an hourly basis during emergencies.

“I’m surprised that wasn’t already on the books,” Jake said. “That you should just be transparent and update people.”

Spike said the new policy only underscores the original failure.

“Why wasn’t there a process in place already to guarantee public notifications?” Spike asked.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3