WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Gunfire south of The Junction

11:43 AM: Police checking out multiple 911 calls about possible gunfire south of The Junction have just confirmed it. Officers report finding casings in an alley west of California SW, near California SW and SW Brandon. No reports of injuries. 911 callers said a small black car might have been associated with this.

11:58 AM: The possibly involved vehicle is also described as having “heavily tinted windows” and might have been spotted “driving erratically” near Fauntleroy and California, so police are on the lookout.

(WSB photos)

12:09 PM: Our photographer found police in the alley north of Brandon, with casing-marker cards in the grass:

If you have any information, the SPD case # is 26-244528.

Gatewood August 18, 2026 (12:17 pm)

Did this happen at 11:43 pm or am ?

WSB August 18, 2026 (12:29 pm)

Sorry, it happened a short time before we first published this, and the first two manually typed times should have been AM, not PM (the small-type publication time under the headline is always correct as that is automatically created when a story is first published); fixed. 911 got calls just after 11:20 am; as is our policy, unless we’re being swamped with questions, we don’t publish until and unless we hear confirmation of gunfire (at which time I also sent our photographer) – TR

mrs. myrtle August 18, 2026 (12:57 pm)

Wow… in the middle of the day? and in an area that doesn’t typically see gun fire. Scary. Hopefully there is Ring or other home cameras in the area that caught it on video.

M. August 18, 2026 (2:38 pm)

I was sitting in my office and heard this. I was like gosh, was that gunshots? Thank you for confirming. Too close for comfort.

Concerned August 19, 2026 (1:45 pm)

It’s been “too close for comfort” for a looooonnngg time “m”.

Marine View August 18, 2026 (7:08 pm)

Pull them over: RCW 46.37.430 Windshield: Non-reflective sunscreening permitted only on the top 6 inches.

Mike August 19, 2026 (11:05 am)

I heard this gunfire quite clearly yesterday and appreciate this reporting (as always!). The Real-time 911 dispatch never showed anything. How does one keep up with updates on this if it’s not reported as a “crime”?

WSB August 19, 2026 (11:44 am)

There is no real-time log for police calls, only for SFD calls, and if there is no injury, there’s no SFD dispatch. This was on the SPD data map as a “shots fired” report but please be aware, that classification results from 911 calls even if gunfire is NOT confirmed – so you will see many more “shots fired” calls (often turning out to be fireworks) than actual verified incidents, – TR

Peterman August 19, 2026 (1:41 pm)

Any ideas at what the midday shooter was shooting at?

1994 August 19, 2026 (11:05 pm)

How many shell casings does SPD collect in West Seattle? Seems like they must have quite a large collection with the frequent gunfire events. Is there so much gunfire in other Seattle neighborhoods or does WS win first place?