SEATTLE — The Seattle Mayor’s Office on Friday afternoon released a data drop of staff text messages and Microsoft Teams chats from July 26 and 27, 2026, covering the hours immediately after the Bite of Seattle shooting that killed three people and wounded others at Seattle Center.
Dawn Schellenberg, interim communications director, emailed the records Friday afternoon to media outlets, including the Lynnwood Times, saying the office gathered “key records” in the interest of transparency after weeks of press requests. The files will remain available via a provided link through Friday, Sept. 11. Schellenberg added that some messages appear labeled “recently deleted” but were automatically archived on city-issued phones and included in the production. She also stated that Public Disclosure Officers will continue processing individual public records requests and asked requesters to notify their assigned officer if the released documents satisfy their inquiries.
Schellenberg confirmed to the Lynnwood Times that the data drop does not include every text or Teams message from those dates. Additional records can be obtained through a public records request.
The Lynnwood Times has not reviewed the contents of the files. The newspaper is publishing the list of documents so readers can download and examine them independently.
Text messages from Friday’s data drop:
- DM Brian Surratt texts 7.26.26-7.27.26
- DM Brian Surratt’s texts from personal phone 7.26.26-7.27.26
- Esther Handy texts 7.26.26-7.27.26
- Jonah Spangenthal-Lee texts 7.26.26-7.27.26
- Matt McIntosh texts 7.26.26-7.27.26
- Mayor Wilson texts 7.26.26-7.27.26
- Mayor’s July 2026 Calendar
- MKW Personal Text with Alex Gallo-Brown
- MKW Personal Text with Gov Bob Ferguson
- Alex Gallo Brown texts 7.26.26-7.27.26
- Alison Holcomb texts 7.26.26-7.27.26
- Caedmon Cahill texts 7.26.26-7.27.26
- Dawn Schellenberg texts 7.26.26 – 7.27.26
Team messages from Friday’s data drop:
- All-City Email Draft
- Seattle Center Remarks
- Teams Messages
- 26-Seattle-Center-Presser1
- 26-Seattle-Center-Presser2
- 26-Seattle-Center-Presser3
- AC Powell Bite of Seattle speech
The Bite of Seattle shooting occurred shortly after 6 p.m. July 26 outside the Seattle Center Armory during the final hours of the three-day food festival. Seattle Police reported that two groups exchanged gunfire. A 15-year-old was taken into custody at the scene. Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19, was identified as one of the people who fired and died at the scene. Bystanders Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44, and Ashley Whitehead, 56, were also killed. Four others, including a 2-year-old boy, were wounded and later released from Harborview Medical Center.
Investigators recovered multiple firearms, including a ghost gun with an extended magazine. Officials described the incident as possibly gang-related. The criminal investigation still remains open.
The 15-year-old faces charges of first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm; prosecutors have not charged anyone with homicide. Defense attorneys have argued he fired in self-defense and noted that the fatal shots apparently did not come from his gun.
As of this week, Sayles said detectives are “getting close” and are looking at two persons of interest while reviewing hundreds of hours of video and sending firearms and prints to the state crime lab. He declined to describe those individuals as confirmed additional shooters. No one has been publicly identified or arrested as a third shooter. A City Council public safety hearing on the investigation and an independent review of the city’s emergency communications are scheduled later this month.
Anyone with information about the Bite of Seattle shooting is asked to call the Seattle Police Department homicide tip line at (206) 233-5000.
Public criticism centered on how little information was disclosed about the shooting for hours. Seattle police posted a brief social media alert shortly after 6 p.m. telling people to avoid the area but is wasn’t until 11 p.m. that there was the first on-scene news conference. Prior to that, social media videos and posts circulated online fueling possible motives, public safety concerns, etc.
An early statement from the Mayor’s Office incorrectly said two people were in custody; that claim was later corrected to one. Mayor Katie Wilson later acknowledged “significant communication gaps” and said information “could and should have gone out much faster.”
She has since announced new protocols calling for media updates within one hour of a significant incident. Police Chief Shon Barnes, who was out of town that night, later resigned at the mayor’s request. Interim Chief Andre Sayles now leads the department.
Questions also arose about whether the briefing was delayed so that Governor Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal could attend a presser. Ferguson’s office released texts between the governor and Wilson showing Wilson wrote at 7:41 p.m. that officials were “pulling together a conference call now, and most likely a public conference later tonight.” Ferguson replied he could be there by 9 p.m. Ferguson’s office said city officials advised elected leaders not to go to the still-active scene and that the governor learned of the 11 p.m. briefing only after 10 p.m.
Wilson later said officials waited roughly an hour for Ferguson and Jayapal once police were ready to brief. Both Ferguson and Jayapal said they were not responsible for the delay.
Author: Mario Lotmore
