White Seattle Man Shoots Black Disabled Veteran in Broad Daylight After Demanding ID

A Veteran’s Fight for Survival and Justice

Harold Powell Sr., a Navy veteran who has spent decades playing music near Seattle’s waterfront, is still coming to terms with the traumatic event that nearly cost him his life. On July 31, he was shot in broad daylight during a confrontation that prosecutors describe as both senseless and deliberate. The incident has left his family and community in shock, with many believing it was a hate crime.

Powell, a 68-year-old man who uses a wheelchair, was hospitalized after being struck in the chest by a bullet. He was released days later, but the physical and emotional scars of the attack remain. Describing the moment he was shot, he said, “I seen the slug. I can see the heat of the slug coming at me and then just, ‘boom!’ Knocked me back.” At that point, he believed he was going to die and immediately tried to call his family.

The attack occurred outside a Starbucks at Pier 55, where Powell had been performing for donations for nearly three decades. His presence along the waterfront made him a familiar face to many, and he considered the local community a second family. However, this sense of belonging was shattered when Gregory William Timm, a 32-year-old white man, confronted him over accusations of “stolen valor.”

According to prosecutors, the encounter turned hostile almost immediately. Timm accused Powell of lying about his military service and demanded that he show proof of his service. He even ripped a military patch from Powell’s wheelchair. In response, Powell attempted to retrieve his ID, but tensions escalated further when he reached for a small knife from his bag for protection.

Powell also had a holstered airsoft gun attached to his chair, which resembled a real firearm. A video of the incident shows him pulling it out of his bag. It was at this point that Timm allegedly stepped back, pulled out a .45 caliber handgun, and fired directly into Powell’s chest.

Bystanders were shocked and scattered as Powell slumped in his chair. Timm then slid his pistol back into his bag, raised his hands, and shouted reassurances to witnesses: “It’s all right, everybody!” Despite this, he continued yelling at Powell to “show me your ID,” accusing him of pulling a gun.

A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer nearby heard the gunfire and rushed over, detaining Timm on the spot. Seattle police arrived moments later, recovered the handgun, and placed him under arrest.

Timm is no stranger to politically charged violence. In 2020, he made national headlines after plowing his car into a Republican voter registration tent in Jacksonville, Florida. At the time, he told police he “did not like President Trump” and later testified that he believed his actions were his “duty.”

Now, King County prosecutors have charged him with first-degree assault, a Class A felony that carries the potential for life in prison. His bail has been set at $750,000. Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, emphasized that Timm cannot claim self-defense when he provoked the altercation. “If you’re the one who’s the first aggressor who provokes an altercation, you lose the right to claim self-defense effectively under state law,” she said.

Powell’s children have launched a GoFundMe to help cover the enormous costs of his recovery. They describe their father as a proud Black man, a disabled hero, and a survivor of both war and systemic injustice. “Our dad was targeted in what we believe was a hate crime and shot in the chest in a senseless act of violence,” they wrote. “After everything he’s survived, Vietnam-era submariner, injury, disability, and systemic injustice, he is now fighting for his life again in a hospital room.”

The family says Powell will need help with medical bills, therapy, mobility aids, and basic living expenses while he’s unable to work. “This isn’t just about survival — it’s about justice, healing, and dignity,” the fundraiser reads. “He has served, he has sacrificed, and now he needs his community to rally around him.”