Three Dead, Five Injured at Taste of Seattle: COEF Calls for a Firearm Injury Prevention Bureau to Improve Mass Shooting Escape and Survival

COEF mourns the deaths of the three people who were fatally shot on Sunday at the Taste of Seattle. Our hearts are with their families, those who were injured, the first responders, everyone who witnessed this tragedy, and the entire Seattle community. In response, COEF is calling for the creation of a Firearm Injury Prevention Bureau modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Americans are taught how to escape burning buildings, survive severe storms, and respond to natural disasters. Yet despite the frequency of mass shootings, no independent agency is dedicated to studying how people can best survive, escape, and prevent these events. Already in 2026, the United States has experienced 271 mass shootings in which four or more people were shot (Gun Violence Archive). Some occurred in private homes, while others took place in public spaces like the Taste of Seattle. States can establish their own Firearm Injury Prevention Bureaus, work together to create regional bureaus, or partner with the federal government to establish a National Firearm Injury Prevention Bureau. Like the NTSB investigates transportation accidents to improve safety, a Firearm Injury Prevention Bureau would examine mass shootings, unintentional shootings, family shootings, and suicides to identify patterns and make evidence-based recommendations. Its work could improve emergency response, identify effective strategies for surviving and escaping shootings, and recommend policies and practices that reduce firearm injuries and save lives.

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