Investigators opened an evidence portal after a shooting near Denny Way and Clay Street killed one man and seriously wounded others.
SEATTLE — Detectives are asking witnesses to provide videos, photographs and other evidence from a deadly Belltown shooting as investigators try to determine who opened fire during an altercation early Sunday and identify those responsible.
The Seattle Police Department opened an online evidence portal Monday for material showing the minutes before the shooting, the gunfire itself or possible suspects. The investigation centers on the area around the 300 block of Clay Street, where police say a confrontation preceded a burst of violence that left one man dead and other people wounded.
Police were called shortly after 12:42 a.m. Sunday after dispatchers received reports of shooting victims in the 300 blocks of Denny Way and Clay Street. Officers found one man with a gunshot wound to the chest and another with a wound to the abdomen. Officers provided aid until Seattle Fire Department medics arrived and transported both men to Harborview Medical Center.
The man found on Denny Way was taken to the hospital in critical condition and later died despite lifesaving efforts, according to police. The other man was hospitalized in serious condition. Police initially said two additional adults, a man and a woman, later arrived at Harborview with gunshot wounds. Local reporting subsequently said police clarified that the woman had not been shot and was bloodied after helping an injured man.
One of the injured men was 21-year-old Matthew Lanske, whose family said he was shot three times. His relatives said he and friends had encountered a street takeover after dinner and that the shooting followed an attempted armed robbery of one of his friends. Lanske’s sister said he tried to disarm the armed man before he was shot. Police have not publicly verified all elements of the family’s account.
Investigators said information gathered with assistance from the department’s Real Time Crime Center showed that an altercation involving three people took place on the street shortly before the shooting. Police have not publicly released a complete sequence of events, a suspect description or a confirmed motive.
The early Sunday shooting came during an unusually violent period in Belltown. About an hour later, a 23-year-old woman was fatally shot while sitting in a parked vehicle near Third Avenue and Blanchard Street, according to police. Before midnight Sunday, another shooting near Elliott Avenue and Bell Street killed a 17-year-old boy and seriously injured a 21-year-old man.
Seattle police have said the three Belltown shootings are being treated as separate and unrelated investigations. Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles said the department was reviewing its response to the weekend violence while working with businesses, increasing patrol attention in targeted areas and using intelligence resources to address street takeovers and people suspected of repeated gun violence.
The first shooting occurred in an area where local surveillance footage showed vehicles taking over intersections before a fight and gunfire. Investigators are now trying to collect additional recordings from people who were there, including footage that could establish who participated in the confrontation, where shots came from and how those involved left the area.
Lanske remains in recovery after suffering serious injuries, his family said. Relatives reported that he underwent two surgeries and was expected to need additional operations. His family has joined police in urging witnesses to provide information that could help detectives determine what happened.
Homicide and gun violence detectives remain assigned to the case. As of Wednesday, Seattle police had not announced an arrest in connection with the Clay Street shooting and continued to seek information leading to a suspect.
Author note: Last updated September 9, 2026.