Kent mayor calls for meeting with county officials about shootings

Kent Mayor Dana Ralph released a statement on Sunday, Nov. 28 in response to shootings on back-to-back days near the intersection of Pacific Highway South and Kent Des Moines Road, including a fatal shooting.

“This violence that touches every part of our community is unacceptable,” Ralph said. “These shootings are not random and are linked to bad actors. The City of Kent will not waste time in confronting these violent crimes and will enact a rigorous system-wide approach to put an end to this violence.

“I have reached out to King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office and he has agreed to convene a meeting between our offices, the King County Prosecutor’s office, King County Adult and Juvenile Detention and the Kent Police Department to develop a coordinated strategy to make the Pacific Highway South corridor safe and to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.

“Public safety will continue to be my top priority as your mayor, and I will do everything in my power to stop this violence.”

Police continue to look for suspects in both shootings. A 39-year-old Federal Way man was fatally shot Nov. 26 in the 23300 block of Pacific Highway South. At the same spot on Nov. 27, a male was shot and injured as people prepared to hold a vigil for the man killed the previous day. Police did not released an age or hometown for the injured male.

Police have said they do not have much information on either suspect and have not said whether the crimes are related.

14th homicide

The killing is the 14th homicide so far this year in Kent. The city had nine homicides in 2020, four in 2019 and seven in 2018.