The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reports this week that deaths from gun violence during the first quarter of 2026 have dropped to its lowest point in nearly a decade.
Nine people have been killed, matching the same number in 2017, and drastically down from the peak of gun violence injuries and deaths from firearms in the first quarter of 2021 when 20 people were killed and 89 were injured.
“We’re branching out now and looking for ways to prevent that shooting from happening. And I think part of those numbers may be reflective of that effort and our successes.” said Gary Ernsdorff, the senior deputy prosecutor at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office who is the supervisor of the special operations unit that covers cases of drug investigations, technologically advanced cases, and officer-involved shootings…