Man convicted in 2020 downtown Seattle mass shooting released

William Tolliver, one of three men involved in a 2020 mass shooting in downtown Seattle, has been released.

Tolliver was released this week, the Washington State Department of Corrections confirmed to KIRO Newsradio.

In January of 2020, Tolliver and two other men got into a gunfight near 3rd Ave. and Pine St. that was sparked by a Facebook post insulting a friend of Tolliver’s. Tanya Jackson, a 50-year-old woman, was killed, and seven others were hurt, including a 9-year-old boy who was shot in the femur while walking with his family after a visit to the Pacific Science Center.

Tolliver and co-defendant Marquise Tolbert fled to Las Vegas after the shooting and were arrested there a week later, according to KOMO News. Both were originally charged with first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Neither man served significant time for the mass shooting

Tolbert was acquitted of murder, with a jury ruling he fired in self-defense, KIRO 7 reported. Tolliver pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, third-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to KOMO News. He was sentenced to 48 months in prison, to be served concurrently. He must also serve 18 months of community custody and register as a firearm offender.

Tolliver was released to electronic home monitoring at his grandmother’s home in March 2023 while awaiting trial, but was taken back into custody a couple of months later after allegedly threatening someone with a gun.

Tolbert was later convicted on federal gun and drug trafficking charges and sentenced to 39 months in federal prison in October 2025, KOMO News reported.

Tolliver and Tolbert had 65 combined arrests before the shooting.