SEATTLE—Three weeks after a deadly mass gang-related shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival exposed major communication failures inside City Hall, the Mayor’s Office is now telling the Lynnwood Times it will take three full months to produce text messages and emails between former Police Chief Shon Barnes and Mayor Katie Wilson related to the incident.
The Lynnwood Times filed a public records request on July 30 — the same day Barnes resigned — seeking every email and text message (including group texts) exchanged between the chief and the mayor from July 26 (day of shooting) through July 30 (day of resignation).
On August 6, the Mayor’s Office replied that “the requested records or a first installment of records will be provided on October 29, 2026.”
That date is nearly three months after the request and more than three months after the shooting that killed three people and left four others wounded. A “first installment” does not guarantee the full set of records will arrive then; the city can push the deadline further as October approaches.
The delay comes as Seattle City Council members openly accuse the mayor’s office of stonewalling answers about why the public waited hours for basic information on the night of the shooting…