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, Will James and David Gutman investigate what really happened the night Antonio died.

We Keep Us Safe is part of Focus, a dedicated documentary channel from KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR network.

Get in touch with the team by email at focus@kuow.org. Support KUOW and projects like this by donating at kuow.org/donate/focus.

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, Will James and David Gutman investigate what really happened the night Antonio died.
We Keep Us Safe is part of Focus, a dedicated documentary channel from KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR network.
Get in touch with the team by email at focus@kuow.org. Support KUOW and projects like this by donating at <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/focus">kuow.org/donate/focus</a>.

New Season "We Keep Us Safe" starting September 21, 2026.

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, first published on NPR’s Embedded, KUOW’s Will James and The Seattle Times’ Sydney Brownstone track down key figures and eyewitnesses from the night of the shooting and surface crucial evidence that has never been made public.

We Keep Us Safe is a joint production of KUOW, The Seattle Times, and NPR’s Embedded.

Focus is KUOW’s home for immersive audio documentaries. Each season zooms in on a single story that challenges commonly held narratives about life in the Pacific Northwest and reveals something bigger about American society. Series include Adults in the Room and the Peabody-nominated Lost Patients.

New Season "We Keep Us Safe" starting September 21, 2026.
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.&nbsp;In this eight-part series, first published on NPR&rsquo;s&nbsp;Embedded, KUOW&rsquo;s Will James and The Seattle Times&rsquo; Sydney Brownstone track down key figures and eyewitnesses from the night of the shooting and surface crucial evidence that has never been made public.
We Keep Us Safe&nbsp;is a joint production of KUOW, The Seattle Times, and NPR&rsquo;s Embedded.
Focus is KUOW&rsquo;s home for immersive audio documentaries. Each season zooms in on a single story that challenges commonly held narratives about life in the Pacific Northwest and reveals something bigger about American society. Series include Adults in the Room and the Peabody-nominated Lost Patients.

Focus: We Keep Us Safe

EPISODE 1: 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, Will James and David Gutman investigate what really happened the night Antonio died.