In the spring of 2023, a tragedy unfolded in Seattle's Cal Anderson Park that claimed the life of 29-year-old Terrence Wilford, a Black male affectionately known as "TT". On the evening of April 29th, gunshots shattered the peace of the popular Capitol Hill park, leaving a scene of chaos and loss. When the violence subsided, Terrence had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest.
Terrence was not the only victim of this senseless act.
His older brother, 33-year-old Raylando Wilford, was also shot and killed while reportedly trying to save his younger brother. A third man was critically injured in the shooting and rushed to Harborview Medical Center. The King County Medical Examiner's Office would later confirm the identities of the two brothers. Family and friends remembered them as regulars at the park, known for their positive presence and for selling food on weekends to help the local homeless community.
The brothers had moved to the Pacific Northwest from New Orleans, seeking a safer life away from the street violence they had known. Their mother, in her grief, expressed the profound pain of losing her sons in the very city she hoped would be their sanctuary. The family, heartbroken by the loss of two of their own, made arrangements for a funeral to be held in their former home of New Orleans.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the Seattle Police Department launched an investigation into the homicides. Witnesses reported seeing a fourth man flee the scene, and authorities have been seeking information about this individual. However, no arrests have been made in connection with the murders of Terrence and Raylando Wilford, and no suspect has been publicly identified. The case remains an open and active investigation, leaving a family and a community waiting for justice.
