One man died and three people were injured early Sunday inside the Sinking Ship parking garage, police said.
SEATTLE, WA — A man was killed and three others were injured after gunfire erupted during a fight inside the Sinking Ship parking garage in Pioneer Square around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Seattle police. Officers and firefighters found the man with a gunshot wound to the head and later cordoned off the garage as a homicide scene.
Police said detectives believe a physical fight escalated into a gunfight involving several people on the garage levels near Second Avenue in the historic Pioneer Square district. A second man was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. Two women sustained graze wounds and were reported in stable condition. Investigators said no suspects were in custody as of Sunday afternoon. The King County Medical Examiner will identify the man who died. The case is being handled by the department’s Homicide Unit with help from crime scene specialists.
Responding officers arrived a few minutes after 1:30 a.m. to the garage in the 500 block of Second Avenue, where Seattle Fire Department medics pronounced one victim dead at the scene. Police said a second victim, a man with life-threatening injuries, was treated and transported to Harborview. A woman with a graze wound was also taken to the hospital in stable condition; a fourth victim later arrived at a hospital on her own with a graze wound, also in stable condition. “Detectives determined that a physical fight broke out in the parking garage, which led to a gunfight between multiple people,” police said in a statement. Officers arrested two people for separate disturbances that happened after the shooting, but investigators said those arrests were not for the gunfire itself.
Through the morning, detectives photographed shell casings and collected other evidence from multiple levels of the garage, commonly known as the “Sinking Ship” for its slanted concrete structure at James Street and Yesler Way. Patrol officers held the perimeter until homicide detectives and crime scene investigators took over. Police reported that the King County Medical Examiner’s Office would take custody of the man who died and determine the exact cause and manner of death. Officials did not immediately release ages for the victims or say how many firearms were recovered. The total number of shooters remained unknown by late morning, and police did not describe a motive beyond the fight.
The pre-dawn shooting unfolded in one of Seattle’s oldest commercial districts, a nightlife and sports corridor that draws crowds to bars, restaurants and stadium events. In May 2025, a separate mass shooting several blocks away killed three people and injured another, prompting a temporary increase in patrols across the neighborhood. Citywide, police have said violent crime trended down through much of 2025, even as isolated outbreaks of gunfire tested those gains. Sunday’s case adds a fresh homicide to the opening days of 2026 and renews scrutiny of late-night safety around downtown parking structures and entertainment hubs.
Investigators urged anyone with information, photos or video recorded near the garage around 1:30 a.m. to contact the department’s Violent Crimes Tip Line. Detectives were expected to review security cameras in and around the structure and canvass nearby businesses for additional footage. No court filings had surfaced by Sunday evening, and police had not announced any suspect descriptions. The medical examiner will publicly identify the deceased man once his family is notified and will release autopsy findings in the coming days. The police incident number is 2026-30497.
By midmorning, police tape stretched across the garage entrance as uniformed officers stood watch and evidence technicians moved between levels. Commuters and hotel guests routed around the closure while bar employees arriving for afternoon shifts stepped past chalk marks and numbered placards on the concrete. “It’s jarring to see this in the middle of a place so many people use every day,” a passerby said as crews worked under gray skies. The garage’s tilted decks overlook the brick streets of Pioneer Square, where weekend traffic slowed and a handful of onlookers quietly took photos.
As of Sunday evening, no arrests had been announced in connection with the gunfire. Detectives continued interviewing witnesses and reviewing evidence collected from the scene and hospitals. The next public update is expected after the medical examiner confirms the victim’s identity and when investigators have more to share on suspect information or charges.
Author note: Last updated February 1, 2026.