The Sept. 6 gathering preceded gunfire that killed Isaac Rios, wounded Matthew Lanske and became part of a violent weekend in Seattle.
SEATTLE, Wash. — Cars circled a Belltown intersection, spectators crowded the street and fireworks went off after midnight Sept. 6 as an illegal street takeover unfolded near Third Avenue and Clay Street. Minutes later, gunfire scattered the crowd, left 20-year-old Isaac Rios mortally wounded and sent 21-year-old Matthew Lanske searching for help with critical injuries.
The shooting transformed a recurring public-order complaint into a homicide investigation and became the first of three deadly shootings in Belltown over roughly a day. It also forced Seattle officials to confront several overlapping questions: how to respond to street takeovers before violence breaks out, how to investigate shootings inside large crowds, and how residents and businesses react when a chaotic gathering suddenly becomes an emergency. Police eventually said video from the area allowed detectives to reconstruct much of the confrontation, while the families of Rios and Lanske raised separate concerns about the events before and after the shots were fired.
KIRO 7 surveillance footage from the night showed cars maneuvering through an intersection as people gathered nearby and fireworks were set off. A resident told the station such takeovers had occurred in the area before. The gathering happened in a dense part of Belltown with apartment buildings, businesses and major streets nearby. Seattle police later said the fatal shooting was related to the street takeover and placed the first key interaction at approximately 12:29 a.m. near Third Avenue and Clay Street. Dispatch received reports of shooting victims shortly after 12:42 a.m.
The department’s most detailed account, released Sept. 23, said a 20-year-old man initially interacted with a 20-year-old woman who was standing with a 22-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman. The conversation developed into what police described as a brief hostile argument before the groups separated. Witnesses had become aware that the 22-year-old man possessed a gun, police said. About nine minutes later, the 20-year-old man and a 21-year-old companion returned to the group, and police said a physical fight began with the armed man.
Detectives said the 22-year-old at one point broke free and attempted to move away but was caught and the fight continued. His firearm discharged several times during the struggle, striking three people, according to police. The gun eventually became separated from the confrontation, and the 20-year-old man picked it up and walked away, the department said. Police described the firearm as legally possessed by the 22-year-old before the fight. Investigators later interviewed the surviving participants and said everyone directly involved in the shooting had been identified.
Those findings were more detailed than the accounts available in the first days after the violence. Lanske’s family said he and his friends had finished dinner when they encountered the street takeover and that a man and two women attempted to rob one of the friends at gunpoint. His sister, Rebecca Garberding, said Lanske tried to take the firearm away and was shot. Rios’ relatives also described an attempted robbery. But the later police statement did not confirm a robbery, and FOX 13 reported that the department did not answer its question about whether the family’s account was accurate. Police also did not publicly explain what started the hostile interaction.
Rios suffered gunshot wounds and was found in the 300 block of Clay Street. Officers provided aid before Seattle Fire Department medics transported him to Harborview Medical Center, where he died. His death left relatives gathering at a memorial near the scene in the weeks afterward. His mother, Jeannie Colony, said publicly that her son’s death was preventable and sought answers about the events surrounding the takeover and shooting. An obituary described Rios as a young man who had grown up around Seattle, cared deeply for his relatives and friends and was known for making others feel welcomed.
Lanske’s path after the shooting unfolded differently. Police found him in the 300 block of Denny Way with abdominal gunshot wounds. His family said he had been struck three times, with one bullet shattering his pelvis and damaging a major artery. His mother, Shanda Barney, said he traveled nearly two blocks while losing blood and looking for someone to help. According to the family, he reached a 7-Eleven and pleaded to enter but the doors remained locked. Barney said Lanske also encountered people who filmed or photographed him rather than coming to his aid. Those details remain family allegations rather than police findings, and the reporting reviewed did not include an independent explanation from store employees.
Lanske ultimately contacted 911 and his girlfriend. Police located him, and emergency crews transported him to Harborview, where his family said he spent two days on life support. He underwent multiple surgeries and faced a lengthy recovery. The contrast between a large crowd assembled minutes earlier for the takeover and his family’s description of him struggling to obtain help became one of the most widely discussed elements of the case. At the same time, police later credited recordings from businesses, their own Real Time Crime Center and community members with helping determine who was involved and what occurred during the confrontation.
The shooting was followed by more bloodshed in the same neighborhood. Less than two hours later, police responded to another Belltown shooting and found a woman critically wounded inside a vehicle near Third Avenue and Blanchard Street. She later died. That case was separate from the takeover shooting, and police subsequently announced an arrest in connection with her death. Later on Sept. 6, officers responded to another shooting near Elliott Avenue and Bell Street that killed a 17-year-old boy and seriously injured a 21-year-old man. The three incidents left the neighborhood confronting multiple deaths within a short period.
The cluster of shootings drew a citywide response. Mayor Katie Wilson issued a statement Sept. 8 calling the weekend violence tragic and unacceptable. She said three young people had died and three others had been seriously hurt, while neighbors had been affected by gunshots, street racing and sirens. Wilson said Seattle would pursue a comprehensive gun-violence prevention strategy using approaches including community violence interruption and focused deterrence, along with public-safety and public-health investments. She also said city data showed shootings and homicides at their lowest levels in a decade, arguing that the violent weekend did not erase longer-term progress.
For residents living around recurring takeover locations, however, the Sept. 6 shooting gave new urgency to concerns about how quickly an unauthorized gathering can become dangerous. Witnesses described the sound of racing vehicles and saw a growing crowd before the violence. One resident told KIRO 7 that a building in the area had previously been damaged by gunfire during another takeover and said the activity appeared to be escalating. The city’s challenge is complicated by the spontaneous and mobile nature of the events, which can gather crowds quickly and create conditions in which police must manage traffic, spectators and potential violence at once.
The homicide investigation also illustrates why the mere presence of a street takeover does not answer who committed a crime during a later confrontation. Detectives still had to separate the gathering itself from the conduct of individual participants. By Sept. 23, police said they had identified everyone directly connected to the fight and shooting, but they had not announced an arrest. Their statement described the gunfire as occurring during a physical struggle and said the case would be submitted to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. That review will determine whether the evidence supports charges against any participant; police did not publicly declare a final legal theory.
As of Oct. 20, the Sept. 23 update remained the latest public police account located for the case. Rios’ family is left mourning a 20-year-old whose life ended beside an illegal gathering, while Lanske continues to be identified in public reporting as the survivor of wounds that required extensive medical treatment. The city’s broader debate concerns street takeovers and gun violence, but the unresolved criminal case remains narrower: what the participants intended, how the fight escalated, why the weapon was fired and whether prosecutors believe the available video, statements and physical evidence can establish a crime beyond the chaos captured on the street that night.
Author note: Last updated October 20, 2026.