Tag Archives: garfield

Police recover airgun as assault involving possibly armed teens sends Garfield High School into ‘shelter in place’

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A reported assault and teens with possible handguns sent Garfield High School into a half hour “shelter in place” Monday.

According to Seattle Police radio updates, the incident began just after noon on the field near the 23rd Ave campus and involved at least one student victim and two teen suspects reported as possibly armed who fled the scene. Arriving officers recovered a weapon at the scene reported to be an airgun.

Garfield and nearby Nova High School reported going into shelter in place status beginning at 12:35 PM while many students were at lunch and stretching to just after 1 PM.

A possible teen suspect was taken into custody near Garfield’s campus just before 12:30 PM but police said the teen could not be identified as the perpetrator.

According to radio updates, one of the teens is also a suspect in a recent area armed robbery.

There were no reported serious injuries.

The school year at Garfield began with new efforts around gun concerns at the 23rd Ave campus and across the city as Seattle officials led byย Mayor Bruce Harrellย announced a $14.5 million planย focused on intervention, mental health, and increased use of โ€œschool-based safety specialistโ€ private security guards following the deadly lunchtime shooting of teenย Amarr Murphy-Paineย last June in the Garfield campus parking lot.

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Amid ICE raids and bluster, ‘routine’ Student and Exchange Visitor Program inspection at Garfield High School raises concerns — UPDATE: Rescheduled

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If fear and uncertainty are part of the goals around the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the first weeks of the second Trump administration, mark another success Tuesday at 23rd Ave’s Garfield High School.

“There is a rumor that ICE will be on campus tomorrow, February 11. According to our District Enrollment Office, this is not true.” Principal Tarance Hart said in an email to students Monday. “A Student and Exchange Visitor Program representative will visit for a brief compliance check to confirm that Garfield High School is meeting the requirements for enrolling international students on F-1 visas.”

“This is a routine visit approved by district leadership and is not related to immigration enforcement,” Hart said in the message.

UPDATE 5:45 PM: A district spokesperson tells CHS Garfield’s inspection has been “rescheduled for the fall.” The spokesperson said there are currently no other scheduled campus visits in the district. According to Seattle Public Schools, the SEVP visits occur annually as “SEVP representatives, along with district staff visit up to three comprehensive high schools” in the city. The last time Garfield was included in a SEVP inspection was 2017.

Principal Hart’s email Monday came as word spread to start the week with students and families at the large public high school serving the city’s Central District and Capitol Hill-area neighborhoods sharing concerns about the rumored inspection. Despite the assurances, a Garfield teacher reportedly offered up their classroom as sanctuary to any students in need.

The concern at Garfield comes in the midst of President Donald Trump’s blitz of executive orders including ten related to immigration that have created chaos around the federal government even as the most significant orders remain tied up in court.

Like so many of 2025’s twists and turns, the official message at Garfield is confusing. ICE may not be at the school — but the Student and Exchange Visitor Program is, indeed, an ICE program under the Department of Homeland Security. Continue reading →

Blanket drive to honor Garfield High School teen lost to gun violence

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A Central District family’s holiday tradition will grow and take on new meaning this year.

The loved ones of Amarr Murphy-Paine are joining with the community for a blanket drive to honor the life of the Garfield High School teen.

Murphy-Paine’s friends and family are asking students and the community to bring blankets to the 23rd Ave school Friday for people in need. Donations can be left at the Garfield office or handed off at Friday night’s basketball games vs. Nathan Hale. The teen’s loved ones will distribute the gifts to those in need, the announcement says.

Murphy-Paine was shot and killed in June during an altercation in the Garfield parking lot. In a vigil on the schoolโ€™s sports field, the young man was remembered as a dedicated athlete and friend cut gunned down as he tried to keep the peace. SPD has announced no arrests in the case.

The killing pushed school and city officials to address gun violence concerns around the school. Seattle officials led byย Mayor Bruce Harrellย announced a $14.5 million plan focused on intervention, mental health, and increased use of โ€œschool-based safety specialistโ€ private security guards following the deadly lunchtime shooting.

The blanket drive also marks Murphy-Paine’s birthday. He would have turned 18.

Learn more about the drive and how to help here.

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Garfield Super Block meeting will discuss planned parkour park, a first in Seattle

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(Image: Parkour Visions)

Sunday evening will bring “a conversation on intergenerational play” in a community meeting about a parkour park planned to be part of the Garfield Super Block project.

The December 8th, 6 PM session at the Central District’s nearby Metier Brewing will include a panel discussion including parkour practitioners, coaches, and community representatives about the “history of the practice and its importance in Seattle.”

The parkour park element would be the first in the city. Continue reading →

Legacy of a Central District musical giant will live on at Garfield High School’s Quincy Jones Performance Center — UPDATE

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The Quincy Jones mural at Garfield High School

The Quincy Jones Performance Center (Image: Lewis Crutcher Lewis)

A musical giant and embodiment of Garfield High School’s and the Central District’s place in the cultural history of Seattle, composer and producer Quincy Jones has died. Jones was 91.

The Quincy Jones Performance Center opened in 2008 as part of a $107.4 million renovation of the 23rd Ave campus attended by public high school students from across the Central District and Capitol Hill areas and honors the entertainment icon’s legacy — and hard work to rise to the top of the industry.

“I can’t believe it’s been 70 years since I walked these halls as a student…as a young kid who wasn’t sure how life would turn out, or even if I would ever know of a life outside the gangs,” Jones wrote in 2017. “Moving to Seattle forever changed me for the better…and finding music here showed me that I could be more than a statistic. My hope and prayer is that these kids know they can too…the only time success comes before work is in the dictionary, and that’s the TRUTH!…I’ve lived it!” Continue reading →

As Seattle City Council tightens belt, proposals include increased spending for Capitol Hill ‘community safety coordinator’ and street ambassadors

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A rendering of YouthCare’s planned Constellation Center

As the Seattle City Council tightens the city’s belt in the final steps of the year-end budget process, District 3’s Joy Hollingsworth will have a busy couple weeks ahead defending her roster of proposed spending projects for 2025 and beyond centered around Capitol Hill public safety improvements and city investments around the Garfield High School campus.

The council Wednesday morning will begin the final steps to shaping a more balanced budget as it refines the city’s spending plan to meet a downturn in revenue that continues to worsen. Last week, the Seattle Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts said its predictions for a downturn in revenue continue to worsen.

CHS reported hereย onย Mayor Bruce Harrellโ€™s budget proposal which leans heavily on the JumpStart tax and City Hall job cuts to overcome a $250 million budget deficit from growing costs related to inflation and soaring wages.

Council staff analysis shows a belt-tightening plan for the next two years that would shift to focus on new workers atย Seattle Public Utilitiesย andย Seattle City Lightย and new officers in theย Seattle Police Departmentย while reducing headcount in theย Seattle Department of Human Resources, Finance and Administrative Services, Department of Construction and Inspections, and the cityโ€™sย Information Technologyย department.

The balancing package being unveiled Wednesday by budget chair Dan Strauss includes rolling back major cuts to Department of Construction and Inspections and the cityโ€™s Information Technology including reversing a much-criticized decision to end original programming on the Seattle Channel.

Hollingsworth’s line items in the balancing package, if approved, would address her priorities around public safety in Capitol Hill’s core. Continue reading →

Garfield High alum wins Nobel Prize for chemistry

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Baker at work (Image: University of Washington)

University of Washington biochemist — and Garfield High School graduate and Capitol Hill resident — David Baker is now a Nobel Prize winner.

Baker will share in this year’s Nobel Prize for chemistry.

“Davidโ€™s visionary exploration has helped revolutionize the field of protein design, and he and his team are developing new proteins to address some of the most pressing problems we face as a species and a planet,” UW said in its announcement. “Potential applications for designed proteins range from new vaccines, antivirals and cancer treatments; to new ways of sequestering carbon and harmful greenhouse gasses; to breaking down environmental pollutants, among many others.”

Baker is the director of the UW Medicine Institute for Protein Design.

A leader in the field of protein design, Baker attended Garfield in the early ’80s before attending Harvard and then UC Berkeley.

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Police investigate gunfire near Garfield High campus

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Seattle Police were searching for a dark Dodge Charger following gunfire south of Garfield High School Wednesday afternoon.

Police were called to 24th and Spruce after the reported gunfire around 2:20 PM just as Garfield students were leaving campus for the day. A 911 caller reported a group of kids running from the area and the car speeding away after the gunfire, according to East Precinct radio.

A search of the area turned up no victims and the suspect vehicle was not immediately located.

UPDATE: SPD says the incident involved a shooter firing into a residence from a passing vehicle:

At 1420 hours, officers responded to a call for service near the intersection of E Fir St and E Spruce St for a drive-by shooting. Officers quickly arrived in the area and secured the crime scene. It was found that the suspect vehicle slowing drove southbound in 160 BLK of 24th Ave and fired multiple rounds at a house. Officers checked the house and found no damage and no one inside the residence. Officers collected shell casings and were able to locate footage of the suspect vehicle. Due to the proximity to Garfield High, the school was notified; however, was not put in lockdown due to the students already being released for the day

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Amid changes over gun violence concerns, Garfield High School also banning phones in the classroom

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One of the “cell phone caddies” at Bainbridge Island High School which instituted a similar policy six years ago (Image: BARN Woodworking Studio)

With the new school year, students at Garfield High School are being asked to start class with a new step — checking in and handing over their phones.

As school officials are responding with efforts hoped to make the 23rd Ave campus safer for students and staff, leaders at Garfield have also instituted a new policy they hope will improve the classroom experience and help eliminate harmful distractions while also responding to family concerns about communicating with students in case of emergencies.

“Upon entering the classroom, students are required to silence their phones and store them in the ‘Cell Phone Airbnb,’ where the teacher can easily see them,” a message from school principal Tarance Hart on the new policy begins. Continue reading →