By Rob Saka

The recent rise in shootings in North Delridge, Snake Hill, and High Point have shaken our community’s sense of safety. In 2025 alone, bullets have entered children's bedrooms and struck car seats — places that should be sanctuaries, not danger zones. These incidents are leaving residents traumatized and exhausted from living in a heightened state of fear. They continue to experience toxic stress daily, which flows from their proximity to the gunfire ‘hotspots’ that most neighborhoods don’t have to deal with. 

As a father of three raising my family in Delridge, I feel this deeply. Indeed, I know this pain and anguish firsthand. These are the same parks where I take my kids to play — places meant for joy, not terror. 

On March 30, my family experienced the terrifying incident of over one hundred gunshot rounds fired just outside my home – practically in my backyard. My 10-year-old daughter was awake at the time and heard everything. After the shooting, I had to wake up my two youngest children for the sole purpose of ensuring that they were safe. It left my family and my neighbors in Delridge, and many across our West Seattle community feeling traumatized.  

My Response as Your Councilmember

Tackling this gun violence is a top priority for my office. Although daily operations and implementation fall under the Mayor’s Office and Executive Departments, I want to assure you that my office is collaborating closely with the Mayor’s Office to bring these neighborhoods some much-needed relief. My office is also leveraging every legislative tool available: setting policy, allocating resources, and holding departments accountable. 

Since the March 30 shooting in Delridge, I’ve requested and received initial briefings from Seattle Police Department (SPD) Leaders and the Mayor’s Office to better understand: 1) WHY these neighborhoods are so vulnerable to gunfire, and 2) WHAT MORE could potentially be done to stop it. 

In the interest of transparency, I wanted to share a few of the initial takeaways with you all. 

First, SPD’s current assessment of this situation is that the rising gunfire in the Delridge-Snake Hill-High Point neighborhoods “appears to stem from a mix of gang-related activity and opportunistic use of the adjacent greenbelt for target practice … The area’s proximity to a greenbelt makes it a recurring site for gunfire, a trend also seen in parks like Cheasty.”  

SPD has made multiple arrests related to these shootings, including one last week of an individual who was who was involved in five separate robberies. 

Second, Police Chief Barnes let me know that, in response, he has ordered SPD’s Gun Violence Reduction Unit and Community Violence Reduction Special Assignment teams to be looped in to assess whether there are new engagement strategies that could be deployed alongside enforcement to help address root causes. 

In addition, here's what else I’m doing to push for the action and resources this moment demands:  

1. Urging stronger, community-oriented policing 

• I’ve pushed SPD leadership and the Mayor’s Office to direct more proactive, high-visibility patrols to Delridge-Snake Hill-High Point, known gunfire hotspots.  

• I secured a commitment from SPD to provide further emphasis patrols in the area.

• At my request, SPD has graciously agreed to conduct a strategic analysis of recent gun violence to better inform both immediate and long-term strategies in the most heavily impacted areas in District 1. 

•  I continue to advocate for officer staffing investments to restore proactive, community-based policing and reduce response times.   
   

2. Demanding better infrastructure and responsiveness  

• My office has pushed Seattle City Light to urgently repair broken streetlights in High Point – because well-lit streets lead to safer streets.  

• I’ve also led the effort to construct new sidewalks and improved lighting along SW Brandon Street, which connects Delridge to Snake Hill and High Point.  

• I’ve personally participated in several neighborhood "walking tours" with Snake Hill and Delridge residents and leaders from City Departments like SPD and SDOT to jointly identify possible solutions and other mitigations that could be implemented for the community. 

• I’m calling for stronger coordination between departments to eliminate environmental and infrastructure conditions that contribute to crime – for example, an SPD-identified contributing factor here involves the area’s close “proximity to a greenbelt [that] makes it a recurring site for gunfire” for “opportunistic use” for target practice.  

3. Advancing smart public safety legislation and new investments 

• Since I took office in January 2024, the City Council has passed 15 public safety laws, including:  

• Improving community safety and curbing gun violence linked to previously unregulated and unpermitted after-hours nightlife venues by requiring minimum safety standards. 

• Note: SPD believes the March 30th incident involving 100+ gunshots near SW Brandon is directly linked to one of these after-hours venues given its role as a vigil “sendoff” for a homicide victim at one of these establishments earlier in the day. 

• Investment in new tools and strategies to recruit and retain SPD officers.  

• Reinvestments in public safety departments like SPD, SFD, and the CARE Department crisis response system led by social workers – including my votes to expand the Care Department’s presence in D1.  
   
• Funding responsible uses of vital crime prevention technologies to supplement our ongoing officer staffing challenges, including CCTV, automated license plate readers, and the Real Time Crime Center. 

4. Advocating for safer parks this summer  

• I’ve advocated that Greg Davis Park and Cottage Grove Park are included in safety strategies being led by the Mayor's Office.  

• My office continues to push for increased presence and programming to keep parks safe during warmer months, when crime and gun violence often spikes.  

5. Backing real progress on officer hiring and crime reduction  

• Seattle has hired 60 new officers so far in 2025 – a 500% increase compared to this time last year.  

• We’re already seeing impact: violent crime is down nearly 25% citywide in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 2022. However, I know that these encouraging stats will offer little comfort or solace to the impacted residents of Delridge-Snake Hill-High Point. Much more work lies ahead. 

Community Collaboration and Next Steps

I appreciate the Mayor’s partnership on this issue. I believe he shares my urgency to protect communities most affected by repeated shootings — especially in Delridge-Snake Hill-High Point. But clearly, more must be done. 

While I don’t control the day-to-day operations of SPD or any other City agency, I will always fight to ensure our communities are heard, prioritized, and protected. Public safety must be a shared responsibility — one that involves government, law enforcement, community organizations, and neighbors working together. That’s why in the coming weeks, I will be meeting with SPD and community through a panel of top leaders to discuss possible additional steps we can take together. It is important that our community’s voice drives the conversation. 

To the many D1 residents who have already reached out to my office — thank you. You have generously shared your specific stories, concerns, suggestions, and support, all of which has been incredibly empowering for my office. Your voice matters, and it strengthens our collective effort to keep our community safe. 

Rob Saka is the Seattle City Councilmember representing Seattle's District 1