Just last night, we got a very thoughtful note from a WSB’er concerned that the prolific crime reports of late were leaving people feeling as if West Seattle is a hotbed of evil. Our philosophy is that we believe it’s important to give you the facts – sometimes the facts are that crime is up, sometimes that it’s down, but we believe that “knowledge is power” in tough times as well as good times. Seattle Police online stats only go back through December 2007, so we can’t give you the big picture for this month, or last month, or even January. But know that everything runs in cycles and the best way to keep those cycles down is to stay alert, as we’ve discussed lately. All that said — GOOD NEWS – we just reviewed Southwest Precinct reports from Tuesday through late last night, and there’s barely a burglary in the bunch. Could mean the recent arrests got the major culprits off the street — could be a coincidence — but whatever the case, we wanted to let you know. Here’s what else we found, including an arrest that solved some house/car window shootings:
HOUSE-CAR WINDOW SHOOTINGS SOLVED WITH ARREST NEAR SCHOOL: This began Thursday morning with a call from West Seattle High School, reporting several boys across the street, at Walnut and Stevens, playing with a gun. Police caught up with the suspects and discovered they had a pellet gun that had been fired several times, at the school and even at one suspect’s leg (he wasn’t hurt). In the process of this investigation, as they interviewed five suspects in all — boys aged 14 through 17 — police say one of the 14-year-olds confessed to having shot at house and car windows on Thursday night (both incidents had been reported separately, one in the 9200 block of 9th SW, one in the 6300 block of 29th SW). No motive was given, but the police report notes the suspect was in a car with self-proclaimed gang members at the time.
CAR BREAK-IN: Sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, the window of a car parked in the 3000 block of Charlestown was broken, and items were stolen, including a laptop, stereo, and GPS.
ANOTHER GAS DRIVEAWAY: Around 2 pm Tuesday, a light-green Mercedes drove off without paying for $85 in gas at the Fauntleroy/Alaska Shell.
BIKE THEFTS: Two bikes were reported stolen in separate incidents outside High Point Library in the past eight days.
THE ONLY BURGLARY REPORT WE SAW: Between 9 am Wednesday and 8:30 am Thursday, someone stole an outboard motor from the garage attached to a house in the 9800 block of 51st. The police report says the owner acknowledged the door is often left open for easier access.
As we always remind you – don’t hesitate to call police when you see or hear something suspicious, and of course when you believe a crime has been (or is being) committed. In addition to 911, there’s a non-emergency line at 206/625-5011. A big collection of Seattle Police crime-prevention resources is linked from the Southwest Precinct’s Crime Prevention page. Previous WSB police-report coverage is archived on our Crime Watch page.
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