Harold Powell barely made it out alive after an ordinary day suddenly turned violent. Reflecting on the incident, Powel said, “Moving around slowly and moving around faster. I’m just blessed, man. I can still do my thing with my family. I’m blessed.”
The 68-year-old handicapped Navy veteran is recovering at home after being released from the hospital after getting shot in the chest while performing on Seattle’s waterfront.
Powell, who uses a wheelchair, said that on July 31, he was busking on Seattle’s waterfront, as he has done for the past 30 years, when he was approached by a man who was later identified as Gregory Timm, 32. Timm accused him of “stolen valor,” which is the false claim of having been in the military.
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Powell volunteered to show Timm his military ID, but he couldn’t in time. Timm allegedly took a pistol out of a zippered bag and shot Powell once in the chest, according to the prosecution. The incident was captured on video.
“He grabbed my belongings,” Powell told King5. According to police, Timm tore a military patch from Powell’s belongings.
“So I had a knife. I took out my knife,” Powell explained.
Witnesses informed police that Powell brandished a holstered airsoft gun when Timm refused to back away. Timm then pulled out a gun from his backpack and shot Powell in the chest.
“I seen the slug. I can see the heat of the slug coming at me, then just, ‘Boom!’ Knocked me back,” Powell also told KIRO.
He said that he believed his life was over. “I just went to ‘I’m going to die, so let me call my family. Forget everything else.’ That’s just all I thought. I didn’t worry about nothing else,” he said.
Powell said the bullet cracked his ribs, but luckily, it did not strike any vital organs.
“[Doctors] didn’t believe it, after all these X-rays, that I can live after being shot like that,” he said.
Powell revealed his Navy service ended after he was hit by a drunk motorist in 1991. He has been performing music on Seattle’s waterfront for contributions since 1995.
“Practiced being in bad situations all my life. Especially being on a submarine, you just gotta be ready not to. If you have to face that moment, you got to practice,” he said.
Timm was arrested after the incident, but Powell said he hasn’t given it any thought.
“I refuse to complain, and I’m not going to let this guy, nothing about this guy, live in my mind for rent free,” he expressed.
Powell remarked that he prioritized his family and himself. Powell’s family has established a GoFundMe to cover his medical bills as he recovers.
Timm was held in King County Jail on $750,000 bail after a judge determined probable cause for assault and robbery.
According to King5, Timm had previously been convicted in Florida for a politically charged attack. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to criminal mischief for driving his van into a Trump supporter tent in Jacksonville.
Even though no one was hurt, the incident garnered national attention, prompting then-President Donald Trump to respond on social media with the warning, “Be careful tough guys who you play with!”
Timm is next scheduled to appear in court on September 5.
