SEATTLE — Following the shooting that hurt a 9-year-old boy and killed a well-known community advocate, KOMO News discovered that there has been a multi-year high of shooting cases in Capitol Hill.

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Since the start of 2023, there have been six cases of shots fired calls, non-fatal shootings, or fatal shootings in Capitol Hill, according to numbers from Seattle Police’s Crime Dashboard.

According to SPD, that compares to five cases in all of 2022. Moreover, it represents more cases than all of 2019, 2020, and 2021 combined.

“It’s a huge heartache. I think about my parents, my grandparents, their minds would be blown over this," said Victoria Beach, a lifelong resident of Capitol Hill, as well as chair of the Seattle Police Department African American Community Advisory Council.

Beach told KOMO News she attributes the rise in shootings to the 2020 riots, when a large swathe of Capitol Hill was turned into the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP). Three years later, she said she believes that some criminals still view Capitol Hill as a lawless area where crime is tolerated or ignored overall.

In the case of the most recent shooting, a memorial is growing in Capitol Hill where a man was shot to death Saturday while driving with his 9-year-old nephew. The young boy was also shot then released from the hospital, officials confirmed.

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Mario Dunham says his brother Elijah Lewis and nephew were heading to a monster truck show to celebrate the 9-year-old's birthday when they were gunned down off Harvard Avenue and Pike Street.

Patrick Cooney, 35, was scheduled to appear in court Monday, but waived his first appearance. However, a judge still found probable cause for one count of second-degree murder and one count of assault. Cooney's bail was also set at $2 million, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

According to probable cause documents, the shooting happened not too long after an altercation between the now deceased Elijah Lewis and Cooney.

Dunham said Lewis, a Rainier Beach High School grad, was a fierce community activist and organizer working for Africatown-Central District.

“He was guiding and gathering people to vote. He was getting people lunches and helping people eat. He was helping homeless people. It was bringing people together during Juneteenth and having concerts and community service events geared toward low-income individuals in the south end and the Central District,” Dunham stated.