On the evening of July 31, 2025, a busy summer night at Seattle's Pier 55 turned chaotic when a confrontation between two strangers erupted into gunfire in front of dozens of tourists, families, and waterfront workers.
The shooter, later identified as 32-year-old Gregory William Timm, accused 68-year-old wheelchair-bound street musician Harold James Powell of "stolen valor" — falsely claiming military service. The exchange escalated as Timm took a veteran patch from Powell's belongings, prompting Powell to arm himself with a knife and have a holstered airsoft pistol at his side. Witnesses say Powell never raised or pointed the airsoft gun, but Timm stepped back, and according to news reports, pulled a .45-caliber handgun from his bag, and shot Powell point-blank in the chest.
