Terrified residents in crime-plagued blue city throw up giant barricades to stop chaos

The growing outrage follows an early-morning shootout Saturday near Aurora Avenue North and North 98th Street, where Seattle Police responded after reports of more than 30 gunshots fired.

Surveillance video obtained by Fox 13 Seattle showed men ducking behind vehicles and exchanging gunfire in the street as bullets ripped through the neighborhood.

Police later recovered roughly 40 shell casings scattered across both sides of Aurora Avenue. Nearby homes, buildings and vehicles were struck by gunfire, according to Fox 13.

"My wife and I have been shocked," one resident told the outlet. "We could've lost our son. Thank God he's alright."

Neighbors say prostitution and trafficking activity along Aurora Avenue are fueling much of the violence, with pimps and johns regularly circling residential blocks late into the night.

Some residents have since responded by installing homemade barriers intended to block traffic and discourage criminal activity from moving into neighborhood streets. After initial barricades were vandalized, neighbors rebuilt them with stronger reinforcements. Nearby, a handwritten chalk message reads: "No Gunfire."

"We're just afraid that a neighbor is going to have to die before the city will do something," another resident said.

"It's sad that things have gotten so bad that residents have to set up blockades," Rantz told Fox News Digital. "It's sadder that they will be coming down, courtesy of the city."

Residents are also calling on officials to aggressively enforce Seattle's "SOAP" ordinance, short for "Stay Out of Areas of Prostitution," a law passed in 2024 intended to combat sex trafficking and related crime along the Aurora corridor.

In a statement previously provided to Fox 13 Seattle, the mayor's office described the violence as "deeply unsettling" and said city officials recently met with concerned residents.

Officials added that "long-term public safety also means supporting community-led solutions, addressing chronic issues that contribute to violence, and making sure residents feel heard and supported."