Teen shot near South Seattle BBQ restaurant found wounded in West Seattle
Aug 4, 2026, 1:30 PM | Updated: 1:32 pm
A photo of a Seattle Police Department officers badge. (Photo courtesy of the Seattle Police Department)
(Photo courtesy of the Seattle Police Department)
Seattle police are investigating after an 18-year-old man was shot during what he described as a tussle near a barbecue restaurant in South Seattle.
He was later found wounded in West Seattle with few details to offer detectives.
Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers said they were called around 6:15 p.m. to the 9400 block of 20th Avenue S.W., where they found the teenager suffering from gunshot wounds, according to SPD Detective Brian Pritchard.
“Officers arrived and found an 18-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds to his lower abdomen area,” Pritchard said. “Officers, of course, provided aid until Seattle Fire Department arrived and transported the man to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition.”
Teen offered detectives few clues about where he was shot
Despite his injuries, the victim told officers he had been shot at least two hours earlier near a barbecue restaurant somewhere in South Seattle. Detectives said he claimed the shooting happened during some kind of tussle, but he has declined to provide key information.
Police said it was the teen’s mother who called 911 to report that her son had been shot. When officers arrived, however, the teenager refused to offer basic details that could help move the case forward.
“He wasn’t forthcoming with any information as far as where in South Seattle the barbecue restaurant was or any description of, like I said, the suspect,” Pritchard said. “So right now, they’re doing their investigation, but we do not have any additional information.”
Because the teen insisted the shooting happened at a different location and much earlier in the evening, detectives believed the crime scene was not in the West Seattle neighborhood where officers first encountered him.
The case is now being handled by SPD’s Gun Violence Reduction Unit, which is working to determine exactly where the shooting occurred, what led up to it, and who was involved.
Police have asked anyone who was at a restaurant in South Seattle Monday afternoon or evening, or who may have information about the shooting, to contact SPD or call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS. You can remain anonymous.
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