White man shoots black disabled veteran after phony "stolen valor" claim turns violent.

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White Man Shoots Black Disabled Veteran In the Chest In Broad Daylight Over Proof Of Service​

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Analice Couto
Mon, August 18, 2025 at 2:29 PM CDT



A 68-year-old Navy veteran was shot in the chest in broad daylight along Seattle’s busy waterfront after a man confronted him and reportedly demanded proof of his service.

The victim, Harold Powell Sr., who is Black and uses a wheelchair, survived the attack.

Prosecutors have charged the suspect, 32-year-old Gregory William Timm, with first-degree assault in what Powell’s family has alleged as a hate-driven act of violence.

Powell’s typical day of music turned into a near tragedy

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Image credits: KOMO NEWS

For nearly three decades, Powell has been a familiar face outside Pier 55, where he plays music for passersby.

That sense of routine, however, was shattered on July 31 when Timm approached, accusing Powell of faking his military background, according to Live 5 News.

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Image credits: X / JeremyHarrisTV

According to prosecutors, the confrontation escalated within moments, leaving Powell seriously wounded and witnesses horrified.

Powell recounted the terrifying instant he realized he had been shot.

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Image credits: X / JeremyHarrisTV

“I just got hit really hard right here in the chest where he hit me real close,” he told local reporters.

Doctors later told him the bullet fractured his ribs but miraculously missed his heart and other vital organs.

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Image credits: X / JeremyHarrisTV

In a later comment, Powell stated that he is grateful just to be alive, though he also stated that his thoughts at the time were only of his family.

“I seen the slug. I can see the heat of the slug coming at me and then just, ‘boom!’ Knocked me back.”

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Image credits: X / JeremyHarrisTV

“I just went to ‘I’m gonna d**’ so let me call my family. Forget everything else. It’s just all I thought, I wasn’t worried about nothing else,” he recalled.

Prosecutors stated that the gunman provoked the confrontation


Charging documents painted a chilling picture of what happened. Timm allegedly shouted accusations of “stolen valor” against the 68-year-old Navy veteran.

He also tore a patch from Powell’s wheelchair and demanded military identification.

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Image credits: X / JeremyHarrisTV


Powell reportedly tried to retrieve his ID, but tensions escalated when he also reached for a small knife from his bag for protection, according to the Atlanta Black Star.

The 68-year-old also had a holstered airsoft gun, which resembled an authentic firearm. During the confrontation, Powell also reportedly pulled the airsoft gun out of his bag.

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Image credits: X / JeremyHarrisTV

Prosecutors noted that this was when Timm pulled out a .45 caliber handgun and fired a single round into Powell’s chest.

Witnesses scattered as the veteran slumped in his chair.

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Image credits: Jax Sheriff’s Office

Timm allegedly placed his weapon back in his bag and raised his hands, telling bystanders, “It’s all right, everybody,” while still shouting, “Show me your ID!”

A nearby officer from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife quickly detained Timm on the spot.

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Image credits: KOMO NEWS

Seattle police arrived within a few moments, recovering Timm’s handgun and placing him under arrest.

This was not the first time Timm was arrested after a violent act

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Image credits: GoFundMe

This was not Timm’s first violent offense in public. In 2020, he was arrested after he deliberately drove his van into a tent full of Trump supporters in Florida.

Timm, who was only 27 years old at the time, narrowly missed about six Trump 2020 campaign volunteers when he drove into a GOP tent before fleeing the scene in his brown and gold van.
 
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