‘People act and say things to get them elected’: Gee urges leaders to face families after Belltown shooting

A 21-year-old man tried to stop an armed robbery during a Belltown street takeover, was shot three times, and walked two blocks begging for help while bystanders recorded him on their phones. No one called 911. KIRO host Gee Scott said this story is exactly why he has no patience for politicians who hide behind spreadsheets and policy buzzwords while families are destroyed.

Matthew Lansky and his friends had just finished dinner early Sunday when they encountered the street takeover, according to Fox 13. A man and two women tried to rob one of his friends at gunpoint. Lansky tried to wrestle the gun away and was shot twice in the stomach. A third bullet shattered his pelvis and hit a major artery.

After being shot, Lansky walked two blocks searching for someone willing to help. His family said people stood around recording him with their phones and taking pictures, but no one dialed 911. He tried to get inside a 7-Eleven, but the doors were locked. He ended up having to text 911 himself.

“It’s really easy to talk about numbers. It’s really easy to talk about statistics and trends and what’s happening and potential policies and initiatives,” Gee said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “You want to know what’s tough? It’s tough to talk about the people. The humanity side of it, the folks that have lost someone, the folks that have a loved one that is fighting.”

‘No one helped him’

Lansky was on life support for two days before he could speak. When he finally could, his first words weren’t about the shooting.

“He couldn’t talk for two days. He was on life support, so he couldn’t say anything,” a family member told Fox 13. “He had to wait all that time before he finally got it out, and that was the first thing he said was how no one helped him.”

His sister delivered an emotional plea on air.

“To my baby brother, I love you. We love you. Keep fighting. You’re not alone. We’re right here, and we’re never gonna give up on you,” she said.

She also had a message for those who fled the scene without helping.

“If you were running away from that area and you didn’t do anything, feel ashamed,” she said. “Please feel ashamed right now, because you didn’t help to do anything when you could have.”

Gee: ‘This should be the only goal’

Gee said what frustrates him most is watching elected officials use gun violence as a talking point rather than sitting with the people it destroys.

“When people act and say things maybe to get them elected or to appease a certain base, when this — what you just heard — should be the only goal,” Gee said. “To sit with these folks and understand what it is that they have gone through and what they are currently going through.”

‘These topics are forever’

Gee noted the media, including his own show, moves on to the next story. The families don’t get that option.

“KIRO Radio, we just do news, we talk news, and give opinion about the news, and then we move on to the next topic,” Gee said. “When you hear stories like this, these are families that it doesn’t go away. Some of these topics are forever, especially when you lose a loved one forever.”

He said hearing directly from families like Lansky’s should force the people who make public safety decisions to rethink the policies they have in place.

“Maybe, just maybe then, people that make the decisions will start to better understand,” Gee said. “Maybe understand some of the policies and things that are in place right now. You go and rethink those things when you’re hearing the voices like that.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.