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.
Read more Hegseth announces in Brussels a review of U.S. forces in Europe, and a ‘NATO 3.0’
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.
Listen and Follow
- NPR App
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- Amazon Music
- iHeartRadio
- Youtube Music
- RSS link
Jump To
- Episodes
- Evidence
- About
Credit: NPR
Episodes
Trailer
Embedded
Introducing “We Keep Us Safe”
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.
Introducing “We Keep Us Safe” from NPR, KUOW and The Seattle Times
- Download
-
<iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5844996/nx-s1-mx-5844996-7" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> - Transcript
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.
We Keep Us Safe: Who Killed Antonio Mays Jr.?
- Download
-
<iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5853133/nx-s1-mx-5853133-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> - Transcript
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.
Read more The price of jet fuel is falling, but don’t expect airfares to follow any time soon
We Keep Us Safe: The Standoff
Evidence
Embedded: We Keep Us Safe
Video evidence from episode 1
Watch excerpts from videos capturing the night of the shooting.
Embedded: We Keep Us Safe
Evidence from Episode 2
Read Antonio’s letter to his dad.
About
- 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)
Sydney Brownstone, Will James and David Gutman
Adelina Lancianese, Dan Girma and Abby Wendle with Liana Simstrom
Luis Trelles, Laura Greanias and Katie Simon
Omari Salisbury, Greg Scruggs, David Gutherz and Sarah Wyman
Dania Suleman and Miyoko Wolf
Robert Rodriguez and Jimmy Keely
Tony Cavin, Nadia Lancy, Johannes Doerge, Micah Ratner and Kathy George
Darrius Cook and Rob Harris
Katie Simon (Showrunner), Irene Noguchi (Executive Producer), Yolanda Sangweni (Vice President for Content) and Tommy Evans (Editor-In-Chief)
Brendan Sweeney (Director of New Content) and Marshall Eisen (Chief Content Officer)
Laura Greanias (Investigations Editor) and Michele Matassa Flores (Executive Editor)
Alyson Hurt, Brent Jones, Jordan Postma, Sergio Romano, and Russell Gossett
Emily Bogle, Shaun Martin and Frank Mina
Tsering Bista, Megan Farmer, Nick Michael, John Poole and Sam Melbourneweaver
Arielle Retting and Ameera Butt
Sydney Brownstone, Laura Greanias, Dan Girma, David Gutman, Will James, Adelina Lancianese, Katie Simon, Luis Trelles, Abby Wendle
Special thanks to Ashley Dorelus, Marcus Kulik, Joey Wieser and Omari Salisbury at Converge Media for providing video footage.
Read more Trump signs agreement with Iran. And, the president’s approval hits record lows