‘Crickets from city leaders’: KIRO reporter blasts 5-hour silence after Bite of Seattle shooting

Three people were killed, and another four were injured in a shooting at Seattle Center Sunday evening during the Bite of Seattle event, the Seattle Police Department confirmed.

Following the tragic incident, KIRO Newsradio reporter Luke Duecy joined “The Gee and Ursula Show” to detail what occurred after the shooting and how city leaders delayed a press conference for five hours when people desperately needed clarity about what happened.

“Usually, in circumstances like this, especially when you have a mass shooting, something of this magnitude, there’s going to be a spokesperson there at the scene,” Duecy said. “Typically, even if they have no information, a spokesperson will come up to reporters and say, ‘Hey, I don’t have anything right now; we’re still working on it,’ but they might give you some facts, but they’re working on a larger press conference later on.

“In this case, there was nothing. There were crickets from city leaders,” Duecy continued. “City leaders delayed that press conference until around 11 p.m. Shooting happened at 6 p.m.; 11 p.m. we finally got information. They delayed crucial information from the public. Questions like, is there another shooter on the loose running around with a gun, should people be locking their doors, was this an act of terror? For five hours we got none of that information.”

Frustration mounted among journalists waiting for answers

Duecy continued to explain the frustration amongst reporters seeking vital information on the mass shooting, and why he believes city officials delayed the press conference to “get their face in front of the cameras.”

“Journalists at the scene started getting really tense because they were saying, ‘What’s going on? You’ve got to give us something,'” Duecy said. “An officer said they were waiting for other dignitaries who wanted to be there, including Governor Bob Ferguson and Representative Pramila Jayapal. When the two of them got there, they really didn’t add much information at all.

“Typically it does not take this long to get information out,” Duecy added. “They said they were waiting on other dignitaries who want to be there. That tells me that politicians want to be there to get their face in front of the cameras and deliver whatever message they were going to deliver. They said the right things; I will say that. Is that the best use of time and messaging? I’ll leave that for other people to decide, but that’s what happened.”

Mix-up from the mayor’s office added to the confusion

Gee asked whether the delay stemmed from miscommunication or was meant to ensure the details were accurate.

“There was a mess up out of the mayor’s office in the heat of the moment,” Duecy said. “Information’s flying around; they said so themselves, but Mayor Katie Wilson’s office announced that two people had been arrested. Instead, it was only one. That’s why a lot of times they do delay information going out because they want to make sure it’s accurate. But you start to question what else they are getting wrong.

“If it’s something small like that, and then it starts to lead to questions of: Is the police department communicating with the mayor’s office? Are they on the same page? Who’s in charge? It kind of gives you some pause about what’s going on here as far as leadership,” Duecy added.

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.