‘Why would you take that risk?’: Jake warns a leadership void has left Seattle events feeling unsafe

Three people died, and four others were injured after a shooting broke out between multiple suspects on the Seattle Center grounds during the Bite of Seattle festival.

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, spoke about how some people may feel scared or unsafe attending large events in Seattle, and though they don’t feel that way themselves, it may be best to “play it a little safer” around the city.

“I’m upset at the incidents of violence. I’m heartbroken that it’s far too common,” Spike said. “My hair’s not on fire. I’m not going to say I’m never going back to Seattle, or the Bite of Seattle anymore. I’m not saying I won’t let my kid work in Seattle Center, or work or play on Capitol Hill. I’m not going to say all those things. I just want my city to do better. My city owes us.

“I’m not trying to underscore or underemphasize the tragic loss of three lives and the shootings of seven people,” Spike continued. “But the aftermath of this is going to be huge. It’s a huge story. How the city has failed, and how the city failed to handle this situation.”

Bite of Seattle shooting wasn’t the only recent burst of violence in the city

Two days before the mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle, gunshots rang out in Capitol Hill late at night outside of a pizza bar, injuring two innocent bystanders as people scattered into local businesses.

“I’m not saying that Seattle is a total loss. I’m not saying that it’s unsafe to go anywhere. That’s not what I’m saying at all,” Jake said. “What I’m saying is, in the aftermath of everything that’s happening, it feels like there’s a void in leadership. If they’re not even willing to acknowledge what it likely is, which it seems like a gang shooting, if they want to call it a group shooting and tell you, ‘Everybody’s fine, you’re safe to go even though we don’t know who one of the suspects is, or we do, and we don’t know where that suspect is.’

“That feels to me like they’re not fully making sure that you’re safe,” Jake added. “So, why would you take that risk? At least for the time being, like just play it a little safer.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3