Black disabled Navy veteran shot on seattle waterfront speaks out as family calls attack a hate crime

On July 31, Harold Powell Sr.—a 68-year-old Black Navy veteran, wheelchair user, and cherished street performer—was shot point-blank in the chest while playing music near Seattle’s Pier 55.

Powell, who has busked along the waterfront for nearly three decades, was confronted by 32-year-old Gregory Timm, who accused him of “stolen valor,” falsely claiming Powell had lied about his military service.

Police say the confrontation escalated when Timm ripped a military patch from Powell’s belongings and, moments later, pulled a handgun from his bag and fired. Powell survived the attack but faces a long and costly recovery. His family, calling the shooting a hate crime, is urging the public to stand with Powell and support his healing journey.

Harold Powell Sr: “I’m going to die, so let me call my family.”

Powell, who proudly served 14 years in the U.S. Navy submarine service, offered to show his military ID, but before he could retrieve it, the situation turned violent.

Prosecutors say Timm pulled a handgun from a zipped bag and fired once into Powell’s chest. The incident captured on surveillance video.

“I seen the slug and can see the heat of the slug coming at me then just, ‘Boom!’ Knocked me back,” Powell recalled to KIRA. “I just went to ‘I’m going to die, so let me call my family. Forget everything else.’ That’s just all I thought.”

Doctors later told him he survived miraculously because the bullet cracked his ribs but missed vital organs. “They didn’t believe it, after all these X-rays, that I can live after being shot like that,” Powell said.

A Black disabled veteran’s lifelong battles

A drunken driver struck Powell in 1991, ending his military service and leaving him disabled. Since 1995, he has played music on Seattle’s waterfront to support himself and connect with the community.

“Practiced being in bad situations all my life. Especially being on a submarine, you just gotta be ready… If you have to face that moment, you got to practice,” Powell said.

Despite the shooting, he refuses to dwell on his attacker. “I refuse to complain, and I’m not going to let this guy… live in my mind for rent free,” he said. Instead, Powell says he focuses on healing and cherishes time with his family. “I’m just blessed, man. I can still do my thing with my family. I’m blessed.”

Harold Powell Sr’s Family Calls for Justice and Support

His family, however, sees the attack differently. In a GoFundMe appeal, they described Powell as a proud Black man, a U.S. veteran, and a disabled hero who has “already given so much to this country.”

“A few days ago, our lives were shattered. Our dad was targeted in what we believe was a hate crime—and shot in the chest in a senseless act of violence. 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 road ahead is long.”

The family says donations will help cover:

• emergency medical care
• surgery
• physical therapy
• mobility aids
• housing adjustments
• daily expenses while Powell is unable to work.

“This isn’t just about survival — it’s about justice, healing, and dignity,” the family wrote. “He has served, he has sacrificed, and now he needs his community to rally around him.”

Legal Proceedings

Police arrested Timm at the scene, and a judge ordered him held in King County Jail on $750,000 bail after finding probable cause for assault and robbery.

Prosecutors argue he cannot claim self-defense, as investigators believe he instigated the confrontation.

To learn more or donate, visit the GoFundMe campaign here.