Key Points
- One man, 27‑year‑old father of three Mhaniq Wilkerson, was shot dead and three other people were injured in a shooting inside the “Sinking Ship” parking garage in Seattle’s Pioneer Square around 1:30 a.m. on 1 February 2026.
- Seattle police say gunfire erupted following a physical fight inside the multi‑level garage at 2nd Avenue and Yesler Way, and officers found the victim with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
- The three additional victims were transported to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of their injuries.
- Seattle Police Department homicide detectives are seeking help to identify four people captured in images from the Sinking Ship garage, saying they may have “vital information” about what happened.
- Detectives say the four individuals left the area in a black passenger car, possibly a Lexus or Toyota, after the shooting.
- As reported by the Seattle Police Department, anyone with information is urged to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206‑233‑5000, and anonymous tips are accepted.
- As reported by FOX 13 Seattle’s news team, the victim’s mother, Robin Wilkerson, has publicly appealed for the person who killed her son to turn themselves in.
- “A child should never leave before you,” Robin Wilkerson told FOX 13 Seattle, describing her devastation and grief after burying her son in Arkansas.
- Wilkerson said she misses daily conversations with her son and seeing his three young children on FaceTime, and mourns that he will not be there to raise them.
- Wilkerson described the emotional toll as “devastating” and “hard to breathe”, saying her son is gone and “there’s nobody accountable for it.”
- As reported by FOX 13 Seattle journalist(s), Mhaniq’s brother, Darrius Wilkerson, said he believes justice will be served and that whoever is responsible “will be found.”
- The family say Mhaniq had served in the US Navy and decided to remain in Seattle after his discharge.
- Relatives portray Mhaniq as “the life of the party”, always laughing and singing, and a “good soul” who was a devoted father, brother, cousin and family member.
- The family is urging the City of Seattle to shut down the Sinking Ship garage, saying they have heard of prior problems there and want to prevent another tragedy.
- Robin Wilkerson told FOX 13 Seattle she has heard “several bad things about that place” and would “love to see it shut down” so that no other family endures similar “terror.”
- Seattle police say they have received “promising tips” but, as of mid‑February, no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.
- Police and local media reports state the shooting occurred in the 500 block of 2nd Avenue, in a well‑known concrete parking structure nicknamed the “Sinking Ship” in historic Pioneer Square.
- The incident has renewed concerns about late‑night safety and violence around parking garages and nightlife venues in central Seattle.
- National and regional outlets, including KATU, KRCR and KTXS, have amplified details of the case, reporting that the shooting followed a physical altercation inside the garage.
Seattle (King County Insider) February 15, 2026 – A grieving mother is pleading for her son’s killer to surrender as Seattle police continue to search for key witnesses in a deadly shooting at the Sinking Ship parking garage in Pioneer Square that left 27‑year‑old father of three, Mhaniq Wilkerson, dead and three others injured in the early hours of 1 February.
What do investigators say about the Pioneer Square parking garage shooting?
According to an update published by the Seattle Police Department’s blotter, homicide detectives are investigating the fatal shooting that took place at around 1:30 a.m. inside the Sinking Ship garage at 2nd Avenue and Yesler Way in downtown Seattle’s Pioneer Square district. Officers responding to reports of shots fired found one man with a gunshot wound to the head; Seattle Fire Department medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
The SPD statement notes that in total four people were shot during the incident in the multi‑storey concrete parking structure, which is widely known by its “Sinking Ship” nickname. Three surviving victims were transported to Harborview Medical Center for treatment, while detectives cordoned off the garage to recover evidence and begin interviewing witnesses.
Regional outlets KATU, KRCR and KTXS, reporting from police information and initial briefings, stated that the gunfire followed a “physical fight” inside the parking garage, which escalated into shots being fired. These reports describe officers being called to the 500 block of 2nd Avenue after the confrontation turned deadly, underscoring that the violence unfolded in a central, historically busy part of the city.
Why are Seattle police asking for the public’s help?
In an appeal issued on 11–12 February, Seattle police homicide detectives asked for help identifying four people who were captured in images from the Sinking Ship garage on the night of the shooting. Detectives believe these individuals have “vital information” about what happened before, during or after the gunfire that killed Wilkerson and injured three others.
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The department released still images and said the four people left the area in a black passenger car, possibly a Lexus or Toyota, shortly after the shooting. As part of their appeal, detectives also requested that anyone with mobile phone footage from the early‑morning hours of 1 February in and around the garage come forward, stressing that video captured before, during or immediately after the shooting could be crucial to the investigation.
As noted in the SPD blotter update, investigators are asking members of the public to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line on 206‑233‑5000 if they have any information, and they emphasise that anonymous tips will be accepted. FOX 13 Seattle reiterated that contact information in its reporting, highlighting that tipsters can remain unnamed while still assisting police.
How did FOX 13 Seattle describe the family’s grief and appeal for justice?
As reported by the staff of FOX 13 Seattle, who spoke extensively with the victim’s family, Robin Wilkerson is using her son’s death to issue a direct plea to the person who fired the fatal shot. “A child should never leave before you,” she told FOX 13, encapsulating the shock of losing her 27‑year‑old son so suddenly.
In the interview, she explained that the family laid Mhaniq to rest in Arkansas on the Saturday before the interview aired, and said that the reality of what had happened was only beginning to sink in. Reflecting on her daily life before the shooting, Wilkerson told FOX 13 she misses being able to speak to her son every day, hearing him say “hey, ma”, and watching him show her his children over FaceTime.
Wilkerson added that she mourns the fact that her son will not be there to bring up his three children, telling FOX 13 she “just misses [her] baby.” She described her emotional state as “devastating” and said the experience “sickens” her, emphasising that she is angry, struggling to breathe and grappling with the idea that her son is gone while “there’s nobody accountable for it.”
What did the victim’s brother say about justice and accountability?
As reported by FOX 13 Seattle journalist(s), Mhaniq’s brother, Darrius Wilkerson, expressed both anguish and determination that the person responsible will be held to account. “I know justice will be held, I know the person who did this will get caught in everything, and you know karma will do their part and get them just as bad,” he told the station.
Darrius said he does not wish ill will on anyone, but insisted that “whoever did this to my brother will be found.” His comments, carried in the FOX 13 report, channel a mixture of grief and faith in the justice process, mirroring his mother’s belief that the investigation will eventually identify the shooter.
In discussing his brother’s character, Darrius told FOX 13 that Mhaniq was “a good person, he was a good soul, a great family member, great dad, great brother, great cousin, just a great person overall.” These remarks, attributed to him in the station’s coverage, provide a family portrait beyond the crime‑scene descriptions that have dominated early reporting.
Who was Mhaniq Wilkerson, and how is his life being remembered?
FOX 13 Seattle reported that the family described Mhaniq Wilkerson as a devoted father of three young children and a former member of the US Navy. According to the station’s account, relatives said he chose to remain in Seattle after leaving the Navy, building a life in the city where he was ultimately killed.
As his mother, Robin Wilkerson, told FOX 13, her son was “the life of the party, always laughing, always singing.” This depiction of an outgoing and joyful young man contrasts starkly with the grim details of his death inside a concrete parking structure in the early hours of the morning.
Family members emphasised to FOX 13 that Wilkerson was closely involved in his children’s lives and maintained strong bonds with siblings, cousins and extended relatives. Their words, carried verbatim in the station’s report, frame him not just as a homicide statistic but as a central figure in a wider family network now facing an irreplaceable loss.
Why is the Sinking Ship parking garage under renewed scrutiny?
In the FOX 13 Seattle interview, Robin Wilkerson broadened her focus beyond her own family’s grief, urging action from city authorities regarding the Sinking Ship parking garage itself. She told the station she has heard “several bad things about that place” and does not believe the 1 February shooting was the first violent incident to occur there.
“It’s not the first time it’s happened there, I’ve heard several bad things about that place,” she said, before stating she “would love to see it shut down” to prevent other families from facing similar tragedy. Wilkerson characterised her experience as “terror” that she “has to go through every day,” and said she would hate for anyone else to endure that pain.
While the Seattle Police Department blotter and regional outlets such as KATU, KRCR and KTXS have concentrated on the basic facts of the shooting — the timing, location and casualty figures — the FOX 13 report adds the family’s call for policy‑level change. This has placed renewed focus on safety in and around the Sinking Ship garage, a concrete structure in the heart of Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square.
What is the current status of the investigation and what can the public do?
FOX 13 Seattle reported that, according to a Seattle Police Department spokesperson, investigators have received “promising tips” in the days since the appeal for information was issued. However, the station noted that as of the time of its report no arrests had yet been made in connection with the killing of Mhaniq Wilkerson.
The SPD blotter confirms that detectives are actively working the case and continue to seek the four individuals pictured from the night of the shooting, who are believed to have critical information. Investigators are also still asking for any additional witness accounts or mobile phone footage from the early‑morning hours of 1 February in and around the Sinking Ship garage.
As set out by SPD and repeated by FOX 13, anyone with information is urged to contact the Seattle Police Violent Crimes Tip Line on 206‑233‑5000, with the option to remain anonymous. Police and the victim’s family hope that additional community cooperation will help identify the shooter, bring criminal charges and provide some measure of justice for Wilkerson’s three children and wider family.
How have other media outlets covered the Pioneer Square shooting?
In addition to FOX 13 Seattle’s focus on the family’s call for justice, several regional and national outlets have reported on the Sinking Ship garage shooting using information from police statements and early briefings. KATU, KRCR and KTXS each published articles under the headline “One dead, 3 others injured after parking garage shooting in Pioneer Square” or similar wording, outlining the key facts of the case.
These outlets reported that officers responded around 1:30 a.m. to the Sinking Ship garage in the 500 block of 2nd Avenue after a “physical fight” broke out and escalated into gunfire, leaving one person dead and three injured. Their coverage aligns with the SPD account on the number of victims and the timing and location of the incident, while not carrying the detailed family interviews found in FOX 13’s report.
On‑scene footage posted by an independent video outlet, OnScene TV, also shows emergency response at the garage shortly after the incident, confirming the time and place stated by SPD. Collectively, these reports and official statements provide a consistent picture of a deadly early‑morning confrontation in a central Seattle parking garage that has now become the focus of both a homicide investigation and a family’s public campaign for answers
