Family sues Seattle nonprofit over shooting at violence prevention meeting

The family of a young man shot dead at a Seattle violence prevention program meeting in 2021 has filed suit against the nonprofit organizers.

19-year-old Omari Wallace was murdered at an orientation meeting at Community Passageways, which works with young people involved in the criminal legal system.

Wallace’s family and his estate are suing the nonprofit and the building owners for wrongful death and negligence, saying a lack of safety precautions allowed the alleged gunman, Isaiah Thomas Hinds, to enter the building.

The lawsuit also accuses Community Passageways, which currently holds more than $7 million in crime prevention and other contracts with King County and the city of Seattle, of refusing to cooperate with the murder investigation.

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The suit quotes Community Passageways as telling the King County Prosecutor’s Office that it could not afford “a reputation as an investigatory pipeline for law enforcement.”

Community Passageways spokesperson Katoya Palmer told KUOW in an email that Hinds “was not an intruder who gained access to the facility but was enrolled in our program at the time.”

Palmer said the organization holds safety paramount.

“Our staff immediately reported this incident to law enforcement and followed internal incident response policies for working with law enforcement,” she wrote.

At the time of the shooting, Wallace was charged with robbing a cannabis shop in West Seattle and was on electronic home monitoring. The court gave him a pass to attend Community Passageways meetings while awaiting trial.

Wallace's mother, and an attorney for the Wallace family, declined to comment on the lawsuit.