Seattle police ‘closing in’ on two people of interest in Bite of Seattle Shooting
Sep 1, 2026, 8:03 PM | Updated: 8:30 pm
Police seal off the Bite of Seattle event after a shooting broke out. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Seattle police are “closing in” on two people of interest connected to the Bite of Seattle shooting that left three people dead more than a month ago.
Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles stated that investigators are currently seeking two individuals to determine their involvement in the shooting based on video footage.
“I can say with confidence that we’re probably looking for two, but I wouldn’t call them shooters,” Sayles said. “We want to make sure that the video correlates with if they were shooters or were they on the other side of being shot at.”
Sayles noted that further legal steps will depend on what the investigation reveals.
“If they happen to come out and be a suspect in that information, then we’ll do what we need to do on that side of the criminal justice system,” Sayles said.
It’s the first major update on the investigation into the shooting that killed three people in about a month.
Authorities identified two of the victims as 44-year-old Carlos Sanchez-Villalba and 56-year-old Ashley Whitehead.
A third person who died, 19-year-old Junior Niko Semo, was later identified by police as one of the suspected shooters.
According to court documents, Semo and a 15-year-old suspect knew each other and exchanged gunfire with another individual who has not yet been identified.
In late July, police said they were “very close” to taking a third suspect into custody.
KIRO 7 asked for updates throughout August, but was given no specific details about the case.
On Tuesday, Sayles told KIRO 7 that detectives have reviewed more than 450 hours of video.
“It’s not videos that were just sitting on this scene,” he said. “It’s videos throughout the community that we’re piecing together. They’re putting these things together.”
Sayles also said the department has served some search warrants and is actively writing more.
“It seems like a long time, but we want to make sure that we get this 100% right,” he said.
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