Seattle mass shooter who killed woman released from prison after just 3 years

A Seattle gunman originally charged with murder after opening fire in a crowded downtown intersection during a mass shooting that killed a woman and wounded seven others, including a 9-year-old boy, has been released after only serving approximately three years behind bars.

Washington VINE issued a notification Monday that William Tolliver had been released from custody. His reason for release was listed as “Sentence served,” according to KOMO News.

Tolliver was initially charged with first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault, and unlawful possession of a firearm following the Jan. 22, 2020 mass shooting at Third Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle. But those charges were ultimately reduced to second-degree manslaughter, third-degree assault, and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Tolliver pleaded guilty to the amended charges in June 2023 and was sentenced to just four years in prison.

The shooting erupted in the heart of downtown Seattle during what court proceedings described as a gang feud. Prosecutors alleged Tolliver opened fire in the crowded area while targeting a rival gang member.

A 50-year-old woman was killed, and seven other people were wounded. Among the victims was a 9-year-old boy who was walking through downtown with his family after visiting the Pacific Science Center.

Tolliver's criminal history raises questions about Seattle's revolving-door criminal justice system. Tolliver and the other accused shooter, Marquise Tolbert, had accumulated a combined 65 previous arrests and four felony convictions before the 2020 mass shooting.

Despite the murder and assault charges hanging over him, Tolliver was released from jail in March 2023 and placed on electronic home monitoring at his grandmother's house while awaiting trial. The conditions of his release prohibited him from possessing firearms or contacting witnesses or co-defendants. Within months, Tolliver was back behind bars after he allegedly threatened another person with a gun. 

The shooting occurred at an intersection that would become synonymous with Seattle's downtown crime crisis. By early 2022, businesses around Third Avenue and Pine Street were shutting their doors or moving employees because of shootings, open-air drug use, stolen-goods markets, and other crime.

Following another fatal shooting at Third and Pine in February 2022, Seattle bakery Piroshky Piroshky closed its nearby location, with owner Olga Sagan saying she could no longer safely operate the business.

Seattle's flagship downtown McDonald's also temporarily shuttered. Its owner said at the time, “Out of concern for the safety of our employees and customers, we temporarily closed our restaurant located at 1530 Third Avenue following last week's shooting.”

Weeks later, Amazon announced it was relocating approximately 1,800 employees assigned to an office at 300 Pine Street because of violence in the neighborhood. “Given recent incidents near Third and Pine, we're providing employees currently at that location with alternative office space elsewhere,” Amazon said at the time. The company said employees would return when conditions were safe.

The area has continued to struggle with violent crime. Earlier this year, a 77-year-old man was brutally beaten near Third Avenue and Pike Street, an attack that was captured on Seattle's surveillance camera system.