Gun violence down 25% in South King County, thanks to ‘two-prong approach’
Aug 6, 2025, 5:01 AM | Updated: Jan 2, 2026, 12:26 pm
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office released its shots fired report for the first quarter of 2025, and the trends were promising.
Between 2019 and 2024, adult felony referrals dropped by 25%, auto theft referrals declined by 7%, adult burglary referrals fell by 28%, and referrals for serious assaults and other violent crimes decreased by 13%.
“Overall, shots fired are down 25% in South King County,” King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion told “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio Monday. “That number is down by 27% and this is the second quarter that we’ve sustained a decrease in gun violence.”
RELATED STORIES
King County gun violence drops as programs show success
Manion credited the decline to a “two-prong approach,” which includes working with law enforcement and non-profits to prevent crime.
“I think that a lot of the success and downward trend is because of a two-prong approach to tackling gun violence,” Manion said. “One, we are working closely with the police to identify the individuals causing harm in our community and bringing necessary and appropriate accountability. But also, we are working with nonprofits and police using data to identify the individuals who are close to gun violence but who have not yet committed harm.”
Mental health counselor and founder of Project Be Free, Katya Wojcik, explained what specific programs are being used to prevent gun violence and treat victims.
“So we’re most known for our co-responder program, in which our licensed mental health counselors go in alongside law enforcement to dv, 911, calls, and the program is really built on transparency and trust, because it’s not that we’re dispatched by 911, it’s really that we are invited — and I say that very firmly — we’re invited by officers that trust us to support them and the community that they are supporting in that time of crisis,” Wojcik said.
Although both Manion and Wojcik acknowledged that the progress made so far is promising, they emphasized that significant challenges remain.
“I will say our mission, for our organization, is to support individuals and families that are experiencing domestic violence, and as we’re growing in the community and getting more and more trust, it’s also about finding where there are intersections,” Wojcik said.
Listen to the full conversation below.
Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.
