Among young people in the Seattle area who've been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, 85% had interrupted school attendance, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

Why it matters: Shootings and other serious juvenile crimes are up in the county, defying a nationwide trend of decreasing violent crime, per data collected by prosecutors.

• The region has also seen an increase this year in the number of juvenile victims of gun crime, Rafael Serrano, a data analyst with the prosecutor's office, told Axios.

State of play: Regular school attendance is a "huge protective factor" against violence and crime, senior deputy prosecuting attorney Jamie Kvistad told Axios.

• Teens especially need to be interested, engaged, and active and have positive social support, she said.
• Without it, "they may drift toward anti-social groups and behaviors," Kvistad said.

By the numbers: The number of victims between the ages of 13 and 21 killed or injured by gunfire in King County stands at 90 so far this year.

• That's compared with 87 in the first three quarters of 2023, 72 in the first three quarters of 2022, and 63 in the first three quarters of 2019, per data from the prosecutor's office.
• As of July, at least 16 kids under the age of 18 had been killed by gunfire, according to a Seattle Times database.

What they're doing: In January, Kvistad helped launch the juvenile division's "safer schools strategy," which is aimed at getting schools the information they need to guide students.

• State statute already requires that schools be notified when there's a conviction, but now prosecutors send nearly real-time alerts to districts and security teams telling them when a student has been charged with a gun-related felony, Kvistad told Axios.
• The program facilitates face-to-face conversations among the schools, probation officers, prosecutors, and the students and their families to get kids back on track, she said.
• So far, about 100 alerts have been sent out, prosecutor spokesperson Douglas Wagoner told Axios.

What they're saying: "I have seen kids charged with really serious crimes that have become successful and flourished, but I've never seen it happen without education," Kvistad said.

What's next

Nearly a quarter of Seattle-area residents spend more than half their income on rent, according to Census data released last week.

Why it matters: An excessive rent burden can make it harder to afford other basic needs, like groceries and transportation — or to save for a down payment that can turn rent checks to a landlord into mortgage payments towards home equity.

The big picture: The share of Seattle-area renters spending most of their income on housing last year was slightly lower than the percentage nationwide, which was 25.6%.

• That reflects how many residents of the Seattle metro area are making high salaries to go along with our above-average rents.

Yes, but: That's little comfort to a growing percentage of area residents who are living in poverty, who still must contend with the region's high cost of living.

🏀 Portland is getting a new WNBA team, giving the Seattle Storm a new rival across the Columbia River. (Axios Portland)

✈️ Cyberattackers accused of stealing files from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last month have posted some of the data on the dark web, after the Port of Seattle refused to pay a requested ransom of 100 bitcoin (about $6 million), a port official testified in Congress yesterday. (KUOW)

Washington state is decommissioning the chamber used to perform executions by lethal injections at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary.

• Washington state lawmakers voted last year to formally repeal the death penalty, which already was on hold due to a court ruling and a moratorium from the governor. (Seattle Times)

Rainier Beer is throwing a free street party Saturday to celebrate the brand's historic place in the pantheon of Seattle beers.

What to expect: R-Day will feature live music, an arcade, food trucks and (of course) a beer garden, in front of the Original Rainier Brewery building on Airport Way.

• That's not the one with the iconic "R" sign on top — although the bash does commemorate the company's lit "R" logo returning to the Seattle skyline in 2013 after a 13-year hiatus.
• The musical lineup includes Prometheus Brown; Allah-Las co-headlining with Sheer Mag; and punk band Monsterwatch.
• Doors open at 4pm.

If you go: While no tickets are required, attendees must be 21+.

If brews and bands aren't your thing, you also can check out the Chinatown-International District Night Market on Saturday from 1-9pm.

More September events