In the early morning hours of May 17, 2025, a burst of gunfire shattered the late-night bustle of Seattle's historic Pioneer Square, leaving a scene of chaos and tragedy on South Washington Street. Briaun Keith Dinish-Lomelli, a 27-year-old Black / African American male, was shot and killed in the violence that erupted just after 1 a.m. outside the OHM Nightclub.
First responders arrived to a grim scene, pronouncing Dinish-Lomelli and two other individuals, 19-year-old Keilani Renae Harris and 24-year-old August Alfred Lastrappe, dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. A fourth person was critically injured in the shooting and rushed to Harborview Medical Center.
As the sun rose over the city, the area, known for its brick alleys and vibrant nightlife, was cordoned off with police tape. Detectives from the Seattle Police Department began the arduous task of piecing together the events that led to the triple homicide. Investigators canvassed for witnesses and scoured the area for surveillance footage that might offer clues to the shooters' identities and movements. An early lead focused on a black Tesla seen leaving the vicinity around the time of the gunfire, with police appealing to the public for any information regarding the vehicle and its potential video recordings.
Within days, the investigation led a SWAT team to a South Seattle apartment building, where they arrested two men in connection with the deadly shooting. The suspects were identified as 25-year-old Hakeem J. Dowdy and 24-year-old Jamarquel J. Williams. Prosecutors moved swiftly, charging both men with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault. A judge set bail for each at $5 million. Court documents began to paint a picture of the investigation, revealing that surveillance footage placed the suspects near the scene and that their stories had shifted during questioning. According to court filings, the suspects had been inside the nightclub before waiting outside for twenty minutes, though their intended target remained unclear. The individual who was wounded in the attack was reportedly familiar with one or both of the suspects.
As the legal process began to unfold, bringing vigils and fundraisers for the victims, a new development emerged in the case. Several months after the initial arrests, charges against one of the suspects were dropped. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office announced that new evidence had come to light that raised questions about the accuracy of the identification of one of the alleged shooters. The charges were dismissed without prejudice, leaving the possibility of them being refiled in the future if warranted by new information. This turn of events added another layer of complexity to a case that had already deeply affected the community and left the families of the victims seeking answers and justice.
