Seattle's police chief addresses city's record breaking homicide numbers

SEATTLE — Seattle reached a record number of homicides in a year, a record that lasted nearly three decades, and one that's now being addressed by Police Chief Adrian Diaz as he gives his take on the increase and what will hopefully change in the New Year.

They are horrific stories of violence that rocked communities across Seattle this year, from the random execution of businesswoman Eina Kwon and her unborn baby in Belltown, to a deadly stabbing that shocked Bitter Lake and marked the city's 72nd homicide of the year. Then a fatal shooting in the city's U-District on Christmas Day brought the number of homicides to 73.

"We are doing everything we can to recover guns, reduce this level of violence," Diaz told KOMO News in an interview Thursday. That number keeps rising and it's the highest since Seattle reported 71 homicides in 1994.

"What do you attribute to the increase? " KOMO's Jackie Kent asked Diaz.

"Homelessness has been a huge driver of it," he responded. "Almost 20% of our homicides are related to homelessness. Eight percent is related to domestic violence."

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Each reported tragedy has left devastated loved ones and groups like Crime Stoppers looking for solutions to stop the violence.

"There's the detectives that are overwhelmed with cases," stated Jim Fuda with Crime Stoppers.

Diaz also said Thursday that another main factor is the boost in the number of rounds being fired during a shooting. The SPD reports 75% of the homicides in Seattle are gun-related.

"In a lot of youth or gang-related shootings, it’s multiple. It’s over a dozen rounds being fired," Diaz explained.

He's hopeful for a turnaround in the New Year with support from the new city council, and SPD's new task force that he reports has recovered 38 guns from prolific offenders since the summertime.

It's challenging task as the staffing crisis sits at a shortage of 375 officers. The department has a goal of filling at least a-third of its vacancies in 2024 as it works to address the many drivers of these crimes.

To address overall crime, Diaz added that SPD is planning to implement a new system for people to report a crime; and they're adding license plate readers on all patrol cars to help catch car thieves.