Kent Partnership is leading on gun violence reduction

Kent is making strides to reduce gun violence in our neighborhoods, in part thanks to a new partnership between the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Kent Police Department, the Latino Civic Alliance and Project Be Free.

Beginning in November 2024, we developed and launched a local initiative to combat gun violence through two main goals: 1) solving non-fatal shootings, and 2) identifying and reaching out to the people who the data show are most at risk of becoming gun violence victims or perpetrators.

The latest data is encouraging, showing that in the first quarter of this year, Kent was a bright spot for reduced gun violence in King County: while the county overall experienced a 32% decrease in shots fired (when comparing 2025’s first quarter to 2024’s first quarter), South King County recorded a 50% decrease in shots fired during that same period. And in Kent, total shots fired incidents fell to the lowest number since before the pandemic.

Here’s how we’re partnering to reduce gun violence. Our organizations regularly meet to share the latest information about specific incidents of gun violence in Kent – with a focus on understanding who are the victims and witnesses of gun violence, and who is most at risk for being impacted by gun violence in the future. By dedicating law enforcement, prosecutor’s office, and community resources to crimes involving gun violence, we seek to address these crimes through a broad range of tools deployed across the spectrum of victimization and violence.

Prevention: We know that firearm violence is intensely concentrated within small, identifiable social networks. Firearm violence spreads within these networks: the closer a person is to a perpetrator of firearm violence, the more likely they are to become a victim themselves. Project Be Free and the Latino Civic Alliance are doing direct outreach to people that experience and data tell us are most at risk of becoming a victim of gun violence. To date, more than 50 people in Kent have been referred for individualized case management and supportive services, with a goal of increasing their safety and decreasing their likelihood of being shot.

For example, intervening with one at-risk youth helped uncover deeper emotional and behavioral challenges. Through trauma-informed counseling and family coaching, the youth has since shown increased self-awareness, improved school attendance, and taken steps toward a mental health diagnosis; today, his family reports greater confidence and connection.

Intervention and enforcement: We also know that the perpetrators responsible for gun violence in Kent represent a tiny handful of people in our community. Law enforcement and prosecutors are working to identify and prosecute these individuals, with a renewed emphasis on solving non-fatal shootings. By solving non-fatal shooting cases, law enforcement and prosecutors are interrupting individuals who may be at risk of continued or even more serious forms of violence. These efforts are in addition to our ongoing work to solve murder cases and hold those individuals accountable.

Just last month, a report on gun violence data from the first quarter of 2025 showed that our multi-pronged effort – combining prevention, intervention, and enforcement – is corresponding with a positive impact: South King County just experienced the lowest number of shots fired of any year in the past five years. In the first quarter of 2025, South King County had 114 shots fired incidents compared to 230 the year before and 165 in 2021.

While our community is making progress, we aren’t declaring victory. Notably, gun violence is not felt equally. In 2024, 76% of shooting victims in King County were people of color. Youth gun violence also remains high. The number of child shooting victims in 2024 (61) doubled from 2019 and increased sharply by 45% (+19) since 2023. Keeping our children safe from gun violence – and keeping guns out of their hands – demands our immediate, collective action.

After years of experiencing high levels of more serious crime and violence during the pandemic, the positive data we are seeing in terms of lower shooting numbers in Kent is welcome news. We must and will continue efforts, including through the partnership between our organizations (and fighting to maintain the state funding we rely on to help make this work possible), to increase safety in Kent and throughout King County.

Leesa Manion is the elected King County Prosecuting Attorney, Rafael Padilla is the Chief of the Kent Police Department, Katya Wojcik is Executive Director of Project Be Free, and Nina Martinez is the Board Chair of the Latino Civic Alliance.