George Herbert Mattison, a 79-year-old male was fatally shot on the night of November 23, 2025, at the James Street Park and Ride lot in Kent, Washington. He was found with multiple gunshot wounds, and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled his death a homicide, formally identifying him by name and confirming that he died at the scene rather than at a hospital.
Shortly before 9 p.m., multiple callers reported hearing a series of gunshots at the transit lot at 900 West James Street, just east of the accesso ShoWare Center and near State Route 167. According to police, one caller described hearing several shots, then a few more, followed by the sound of a vehicle rapidly leaving the area. When officers arrived at about 8:46 p.m., they found Mattison in the parking lot with multiple wounds and immediately began life-saving efforts until Puget Sound Fire medics took over, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead where he lay.
In the days that followed, detectives from the Kent Police Department opened a homicide investigation, with assistance from King County Sheriff’s Office Metro Transit Police and other regional agencies. Early releases from police noted that they were still working to confirm the victim’s identity; once the Medical Examiner identified Mattison, authorities reiterated that the case was being treated as an intentional killing and appealed repeatedly to the public for tips, sharing a dedicated tip-line phone number and email address in local media coverage.
As of the most recent reporting at the end of November 2025, police have not announced any arrests and have not released a description of a suspect or suspects. Multiple outlets covering the case state that no one is in custody, the shooter remains at large, and investigators have not publicly shared a possible motive or any relationship, if any, between Mattison and whoever opened fire on him in the parking lot. Local reporting has also noted that this killing marked the eighth homicide of 2025 in Kent, underscoring broader concern about gun violence in the city even as authorities say overall shots-fired incidents have been trending downward.
Mattison is now listed in the National Gun Violence Memorial, which records that he “lost to gun violence” on November 23, 2025, in Kent and invites friends, family, and community members to add memories, photos, and details about his life. At the time of the latest available updates, his online memorial shows that candles have been lit in his honor, while the circumstances of his final moments in the quiet park-and-ride lot remain unsolved, with investigators still asking anyone who heard the gunfire, saw a speeding vehicle leave the area, or has any other information to come forward.
