Embedded: “We Keep Us Safe” from NPR, KUOW and The Seattle Times

from NPR | KUOW | The Seattle Times

In the summer of 2020, sixteen-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to join the racial justice movement of his generation. He arrived in Seattle during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, known as CHOP. Less than a week later, he was shot and killed there. The case remains unsolved.

In this eight-part series, join us as we track down key figures and eyewitnesses from the night of the shooting and surface crucial evidence that has never been made public.

Episodes

Trailer

Embedded

Introducing “We Keep Us Safe”

Embedded

Episode 1: Who Killed Antonio Mays Jr.?

When 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. was shot and killed inside Seattle’s CHOP protest zone in 2020, protesters claimed self-defense. For years, that version of events went unchallenged. Reporters Sydney Brownstone and Will James investigate what really happened the night Antonio died.

Embedded

Episode 2: The Standoff

In the summer of 2020, protests are happening all across the country. But Seattle is different. A confrontation between protestors and police outside a precinct leads to the birth of CHOP. A thousand miles away, Antonio Mays Jr. hears about what’s happening in Seattle. He was shot and killed there three weeks later.

Evidence

Embedded: We Keep Us Safe

Video evidence from episode 1

Watch excerpts from videos capturing the night of the shooting.

"Pleas[e] read all the way Through. I love you DaD. You raised a Strong Young Man. — I'm gonna make you proud."

Embedded: We Keep Us Safe

Evidence from Episode 2

Read Antonio’s letter to his dad.

About

ADDITIONAL READING

NPR: ‘Remember Who We’re Fighting For’: The Uneasy Existence Of Seattle’s Protest Camp (June 18, 2020)
The Seattle Times: ‘Everybody down!’: What happened at the shooting that killed a teenager and led to CHOP’s shutdown (July 8, 2020)
The Seattle Times: Five years after CHOP in Seattle, teen’s death is without answers (March 26, 2025)

PODCAST CREDITS

Reporting: Sydney Brownstone, Will James and David Gutman
Production: Adelina Lancianese, Dan Girma and Abby Wendle with Liana Simstrom
Editing: Luis Trelles, Laura Greanias and Katie Simon
Additional Reporting & Production: Omari Salisbury, Greg Scruggs, David Gutherz and Sarah Wyman
Research: Dania Suleman and Miyoko Wolf
Mastering: Robert Rodriguez and Jimmy Keely
Standards, Editorial Review & Legal Support: Tony Cavin, Nadia Lancy, Johannes Doerge, Micah Ratner and Kathy George
Technical Support: Darrius Cook and Rob Harris
NPR Leadership: Katie Simon (Showrunner), Irene Noguchi (Executive Producer), Yolanda Sangweni (Vice President for Content) and Tommy Evans (Editor-In-Chief)
KUOW Leadership: Brendan Sweeney (Director of New Content) and Marshall Eisen (Chief Content Officer)
The Seattle Times Leadership: Laura Greanias (Investigations Editor) and Michele Matassa Flores (Executive Editor)

DIGITAL CREDITS

Design & Development: Alyson Hurt, Brent Jones, Jordan Postma, Sergio Romano, and Russell Gossett
Visual Editing: Emily Bogle, Shaun Martin and Frank Mina
Video Team: Tsering Bista, Megan Farmer, Nick Michael, John Poole and Sam Melbourneweaver
Audience Engagement: Arielle Retting and Ameera Butt
Writing & Editing: Sydney Brownstone, Laura Greanias, Dan Girma, David Gutman, Will James, Adelina Lancianese, Katie Simon, Luis Trelles, Abby Wendle

ADDITIONAL CREDITS

Special thanks to Ashley Dorelus, Marcus Kulik, Joey Wieser and Omari Salisbury at Converge Media for providing video footage.

NPR Topics: News wp:paragraph

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