diff --git a/storage/search.py b/storage/search.py
index 850f5e1..d4a3461 100644
--- a/storage/search.py
+++ b/storage/search.py
@@ -315,28 +315,22 @@ async def _load_candidate_sessions(
             if tag_conditions:
                 stmt = stmt.where(or_(*tag_conditions))
 
-        result = await self.session.execute(stmt)
-        sessions = list(result.scalars().all())
-
-        # Filter by event_type if specified (requires checking events)
+        # Filter by event_type in SQL using a subquery to avoid N+1 queries.
+        # Previously this was done with a Python loop issuing one query per session.
         if event_type:
-            sessions_with_event_type = []
-            for session in sessions:
-                # Check if session has any event of the specified type
-                # Handle both string and enum values
-                event_type_str = event_type.value if hasattr(event_type, 'value') else event_type
-
-                event_stmt = select(EventModel).where(
-                    EventModel.session_id == session.id,
+            event_type_str = event_type.value if hasattr(event_type, "value") else event_type
+            event_subq = (
+                select(EventModel.session_id)
+                .where(
                     EventModel.tenant_id == self.tenant_id,
                     EventModel.event_type == event_type_str,
-                ).limit(1)
-                event_result = await self.session.execute(event_stmt)
-                if event_result.scalar_one_or_none() is not None:
-                    sessions_with_event_type.append(session)
-            sessions = sessions_with_event_type
+                )
+                .scalar_subquery()
+            )
+            stmt = stmt.where(SessionModel.id.in_(event_subq))
 
-        return sessions
+        result = await self.session.execute(stmt)
+        return list(result.scalars().all())
 
     async def _score_sessions(
         self,
diff --git a/tests/storage/test_search.py b/tests/storage/test_search.py
index c148b8c..605358f 100644
--- a/tests/storage/test_search.py
+++ b/tests/storage/test_search.py
@@ -423,6 +423,55 @@ async def test_load_candidate_sessions_without_status(self):
         assert isinstance(result, list)
         assert mock_session.execute.called
 
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_load_candidate_sessions_event_type_filter_in_sql(self):
+        """Test _load_candidate_sessions pushes event_type filter into SQL subquery.
+
+        The event_type predicate must appear in the WHERE clause of the single
+        SQL statement, not as a Python-level N+1 loop over sessions.
+        """
+        mock_session = _create_mock_async_session()
+        service = SessionSearchService(mock_session, tenant_id="tenant-1")
+
+        mock_result = Mock()
+        mock_scalars = Mock()
+        mock_scalars.all = Mock(return_value=[])
+        mock_result.scalars = Mock(return_value=mock_scalars)
+        mock_session.execute = AsyncMock(return_value=mock_result)
+
+        await service._load_candidate_sessions(event_type="tool_call")
+
+        # Exactly one query should have been issued (no N+1 per-session queries).
+        assert mock_session.execute.call_count == 1
+
+        # The WHERE clause must reference the events table for event_type filtering.
+        stmt = mock_session.execute.await_args.args[0]
+        where_clause = str(stmt.whereclause)
+        assert "events.event_type" in where_clause
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_load_candidate_sessions_event_type_excludes_non_matching_sessions(self):
+        """Test _load_candidate_sessions returns only sessions returned by the DB.
+
+        When the DB returns no sessions (because none have the requested
+        event_type), the result must be empty — no session should slip through.
+        """
+        mock_session = _create_mock_async_session()
+        service = SessionSearchService(mock_session, tenant_id="tenant-1")
+
+        # DB finds no sessions matching the event_type subquery.
+        mock_result = Mock()
+        mock_scalars = Mock()
+        mock_scalars.all = Mock(return_value=[])
+        mock_result.scalars = Mock(return_value=mock_scalars)
+        mock_session.execute = AsyncMock(return_value=mock_result)
+
+        result = await service._load_candidate_sessions(event_type="error")
+
+        assert result == []
+        # Still exactly one query — no secondary per-session lookups.
+        assert mock_session.execute.call_count == 1
+
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     async def test_load_candidate_sessions_with_status(self):
         """Test _load_candidate_sessions applies status filter when provided."""