Seattle mayor delayed press conference on mass shooting until Bob Ferguson, Pramila Jayapal could attend

Three people were killed and at least four others, including a toddler, were wounded when gunfire erupted at the July 26 festival at Seattle Center. A 15-year-old suspect was arrested shortly after the shooting, but Interim Seattle Police Chief Andre Sayles revealed Tuesday that investigators have identified two additional people they want to question after reviewing approximately 450 hours of video.

"I can say that we are looking at a potential two persons of interest in this incident, not saying that they are the shooters or anything of that nature, but people that we have identified that we need to have a conversation with," Sayles told FOX 13 Seattle. Police have served search warrants and are working with the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. No additional arrests have been announced, and no descriptions have been given.

The development comes as Mayor Katie Wilson and Chief Sayles acknowledged that the city failed to provide Seattle residents with timely information during the shooting and its aftermath, including whether the public remained in danger. "Seattle deserves clear and fast information in an emergency, and we fell short of that," Wilson told KOMO News. "So we are fixing that."

The city has still not publicly identified who was responsible for an approximately five-hour gap in public information following the shooting.

Wilson has now acknowledged that part of the delay occurred because officials were waiting for Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson and Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal to arrive before holding the news conference.

Wilson said officials waited from approximately 9:45 pm until 10:45 pm for Ferguson and Jayapal. When KOMO asked whether Wilson or anyone in her office knew about or approved the roughly five-hour delay, the mayor did not directly answer. "There were significant communication gaps on the night of the Bite of Seattle tragedy," Wilson said.

The admission raises new questions about previous attempts to distance Ferguson from the delay. In the days following the shooting, Ferguson's office quickly released text messages between the governor and Wilson amid speculation that officials delayed the briefing to accommodate elected officials. The messages did not show Ferguson personally asking anyone to postpone the news conference.

However, Wilson has now confirmed officials did wait approximately an hour for Ferguson and Jayapal to arrive. Ferguson and Jayapal had already participated remotely in a multi-agency briefing beginning at 8:57 pm, according to a timeline released by Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee Chair Bob Kettle. The 26-minute Teams call included Ferguson, Jayapal, Wilson, then-Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis, Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth. The first news conference did not begin until approximately 10:50 pm.

Wilson previously said, "Once it became clear that SPD was ready to brief the press, I, the governor, and Congresswoman Jayapal, made our way rapidly to Seattle Center so that we would be able to be there to share that information with you all."

She later acknowledged a "miscommunication" between SPD and her office and said she did not realize how little information had reached the public. "What I did not fully understand in that moment was how little information had reached the public or the press since the incident began at 6 pm," Wilson said. "Had I known that, I would have pushed for an immediate briefing rather than waiting for a press conference to be organized."

Wilson has also acknowledged the city should have used AlertSeattle and other platforms to tell residents whether Seattle Center was safe and whether anyone involved in the shooting remained at large.

Wilson initially announced that two people were in custody, information the city later corrected. Police subsequently said there were at least three suspected shooters involved, including the 15-year-old who was arrested, a 19-year-old killed during the gunfire and at least one other unidentified person.

The city has since announced new protocols, including using AlertSeattle and social media for critical safety information, establishing clearer communication between SPD and the mayor's office and expecting police to provide a media briefing within an hour of a significant incident when safe and feasible.

"I can say with confidence that we're probably looking for two, but I wouldn't call them shooters," Sayles told KIRO 7. "We want to make sure that the video correlates with if they were shooters or were they on the other side of being shot at."

The controversy has also raised questions about Wilson's decision to force Barnes from the department days after the shooting. Barnes has said Wilson never explained why she wanted him to resign and has denied ordering information to be withheld from the public. Wilson has repeatedly refused to explain her decision, citing personnel rules. Councilmember Kettle has also asked her to explain why she sought Barnes' resignation.

When KOMO asked Wilson whether Seattle Police Detective Brian Pritchard was correct in disputing the city's account of the communications delay, Wilson declined to answer. Sayles said he had not spoken directly with Pritchard. Despite the communication breakdown, Sayles defended officers' tactical response, noting that police took the 15-year-old suspect into custody within 20 to 30 seconds.

Wilson has asked Seattle's Office of Inspector General to conduct an independent review of the public-information response. The investigation is examining the timeline, communications, and causes of the delays and is expected to be completed by mid-December.