Bullet comes within inches of toddlers head in Northeast Seattle shooting

Seattle detectives are investigating a Northeast Seattle shooting that nearly killed a toddler Thursday afternoon.

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) reported the shooting occurred in the Wedgwood neighborhood at the intersection of Northeast 95th Street and 35th Avenue Northeast.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found one car missing its back window and several people, including the toddler, nearby.

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The people told officers they were driving in the area when someone inside another car shot at them. The bullets went through the back window and hit the car seat. Fortunately, the child was not hurt.

“So when the bullets came in through the back window, one of the rounds did strike the car seat,” SPD Sergeant Patrick Michaud told KIRO Newsradio on Thursday. “And on the car seat, there is a head bolster for the child, so that their heads don’t bounce around. The bullet actually lodged in the head bolster of that toddler and it was inches from hitting the child.”

Michaud added that two adults were sitting in the front seat during the shooting. From what he gathered, one seemed to be either a babysitter or nanny and the other was a friend of the nanny.

SPD said officers are interviewing witnesses, reviewing footage and collecting evidence left at the scene to hopefully find a suspect.

“We’re taking the car seat just to be sure that the bullet is not in there,” Michaud said. “But that is, again, one of those things we’re still looking at. It looks like from the photos I’ve seen, the bullet did end up traveling all the way through the head bolster of that car seat.”

He said the department is working with witnesses to lock down a solid car description. When that happens, police will release more information.

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Michaud added that while detectives aren’t sure if the shooting was a result of road rage, people shouldn’t resort to gun violence.

“This is just super scary incident and this is yet another reason why people need to try to just calm down a little bit, maybe while they’re driving,” he said. “This could have been a horrible tragedy. It doesn’t matter how angry you get. There’s no reason to be shooting at each other, especially while driving in vehicles. That’s just not how we should be living our day-to-day life here in Seattle.”

Anyone with information is urged to call 296-233-5000.

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.