SEATTLE—Three weeks after a deadly mass gang-related shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival exposed major communication failures inside City Hall, the Mayor’s Office is now telling the Lynnwood Times it will take three full months to produce text messages and emails between former Police Chief Shon Barnes and Mayor Katie Wilson related to the incident.
The Lynnwood Times filed a public records request on July 30 — the same day Barnes resigned — seeking every email and text message (including group texts) exchanged between the chief and the mayor from July 26 (day of shooting) through July 30 (day of resignation).
On August 6, the Mayor’s Office replied that “the requested records or a first installment of records will be provided on October 29, 2026.”
That date is nearly three months after the request and more than three months after the shooting that killed three people and left four others wounded. A “first installment” does not guarantee the full set of records will arrive then; the city can push the deadline further as October approaches.
The delay comes as Seattle City Council members openly accuse the mayor’s office of stonewalling answers about why the public waited hours for basic information on the night of the shooting.
During an August 11 public safety committee hearing, Director of Public Safety Alison Holcomb repeatedly refused to explain the communication breakdown, instead pointing to an Office of Inspector General review ordered Mayor Wilson.
Councilman Daniel Strauss pressed Holcomb for immediate answers: “We could answer those questions today… Who made the decision to pause, delay, or not hold a press conference between 6 p.m. and 7:30, or between 7 and 8, or between 8 and 9… What was most important for the public to know at 7:09 p.m. was this was not a person who was killing people indiscriminately.”
Councilwoman Debora Juarez was more direct: “I don’t think we need an investigation. I think you could tell us right now why there was a five-hour delay… We’re hearing conflicting stories that the press conference was told to stand down until dignitaries arrived… Why can’t this mayor and this mayor’s office… why can’t we know that now?”
Director Holcomb’s response: the OIG investigation will take whatever time Inspector General Lisa Judge needs, and questions about the delayed press conference are “a political question.”
Councilwoman Juarez rejected Holcomb’s framing and added that the mayor’s office has not been transparent with the council about when the mayor first learned of the shooting, what she was told, or why conflicting accounts continue to circulate.
With a three-month blackout on the Barnes-Wilson communications and the mayor’s office refusal to answer basic questions from elected council members, it is reasonable to speculate: What is Mayor Katie Wilson’s office hiding from the public?
Commentary by Mario Lotmore, Publisher of the Lynnwood Times
COMMENTARY DISCLAIMER: The views and comments expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Lynnwood Times staff nor any of its affiliates.
