West Seattle Crime Watch: Burglary followed by gunfire

| Crime | Highland Park | West Seattle news

From a report just published on SPD Blotter:

Last night at around 8:30 pm, Southwest Precinct officers responded to a “shots fired” call in the 8100 block of 9th Avenue Southwest [map]. The call stated that a neighbor heard 3 gun shots and then a car speeding away. Officers arrived and contacted a resident. He told officers that he was alone in the house sleeping when he heard a noise at the front door, followed by a loud crash at the back door of the house. The victim walked out of the front door to investigate, and he saw three Asian males, and a black male, all in their teens, running from behind his house. The victim told officers that he yelled at them. One of the males turned around and pointed his arm at the victim. The victim stated that he could not actually see a gun, but saw 2-3 flashes and heard gun shots. According to the victim, the group of teens then ran southbound on 9th Ave SW and then west on SW Thistle Street.

The victim returned to his house and found that the back door had been kicked in. Officers conducted an area search but did not locate the suspects. Officers did, however, locate two shell casings in the area where the victim stated the suspects fired the gun.

Police say they don’t have any additional descriptive information; nobody was hurt.

2 Much Whine June 13, 2012 (9:53 am)

“Police say they don’t have any additional descriptive information; nobody was hurt.”

Nobody was physically hurt but this kind of BS hurts us all in many ways that are hard to quantify. Our ability to walk the streets without fear of getting shot by these punks, our ability to relax in our house without it being broken into are all jeopardized when these thugs try to take the “easy” path and steal things that don’t belong to them.

When will it stop? Some suggest that if there were more guns/concealed weapons on the streets we could better protect ourselves. Others suggest that we need greater gun control. I wish we could all agree on an easy answer besides building a bunker and living in fear.

MAS June 13, 2012 (9:56 am)

Glad nobody was hurt here. Also glad to live in a place where this is uncommon enough to get reported as a distinct event, rather than just the number of times something like this happened last night as it would be in a truly dangerous place.

Dixie June 13, 2012 (11:33 am)

Off topic, but whats up with the cop car and cop standing at 100th near 35th in arbor heights?

WTF June 13, 2012 (12:53 pm)

Unfortunately what’s going to have to happen is a homeowner will point THEIR gun and shoot; killing one of these POS.

This is not going to stop until we make it stop. Even more unfortunate is the fact our main line of defense is being babysat by the federal government because they were rude to some people and kicked a known gang member in the @$$.

It is not acceptable to “be glad” that statistics show Seattle’s low crime rate, etc. What is acceptable is the fact we need to KEEP it that way. All societies where low crime, until the weak gave up or the strong left the village.

Be visible. Be seen. Live in and OUT of your home. If you go in your house and hide, they will just knock the door down and shoot.

Nick June 13, 2012 (2:33 pm)

I live in the area and I do legally own a fire arm I would most likely shot one of them if they entered my home. I refuse to have myself or small child become victims of a home invasion. Its sad and frustrating that people are so stupid to do things like this

westseattledood June 13, 2012 (3:23 pm)

Way, way too close. How did I not hear any of this?

It wasn’t even dark yet! So cocky. So stupid.

I hope one of my neighbors saw one of them and contacted SPD. There is an anonymous number peeps can call if you have ANY information.
Hope SPD can track ’em down soon.

CanDo June 13, 2012 (3:30 pm)

If one of these kids turned and fired a weapon while running from this burglary scene, these are very dangerous kids and neighborhood residents need to be aware that any burglary, car prowl or break-in could quickly escalate in something more. These young men will either be injured/killed at some point in their young lives or will likely injure/kill someone else if they keep this up. Parents, do you know what your teen-agers are out doing in the evenings and do they have access to guns?

Rebecca June 13, 2012 (6:28 pm)

Here’s what I predict: other teenagers are going to learn about this or hear rumor that so-and-so is trying to rob houses. Those teenagers will say nothing to anyone but other teenagers who also do nothing to report it. Eventually, these kids will get killed by a home owner or murdered by other teenagers who commit violent crimes. The Seattle Times will write a story about the tragedy of gun violence and the deceased kids’ friends will cry on TV about how it’s so sad to lose their friend. They’ll be quoted as saying they can’t understand why this keeps happening.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Someone knows what happened but isn’t going to speak up. Then someone’s friend/son/brother is going to die. Let’s all try to act shocked.

Nick June 13, 2012 (8:32 pm)

I agree these kids need to learn its not. worth it they are playing with fire and can easily end up dead especially. When invading someones private property and space

cs in hp June 13, 2012 (11:25 pm)

but wait- it wasn’t the victim that called the police? it was a neighbor? why didn’t the victim call the police? something’s strange about this story the way it’s written.

Jenni June 13, 2012 (11:25 pm)

I live down the street & our block has a proactive block watch. I’m frightened that the perpetrator shot at the resident/ homeowner. This is so dangerous and these 4 individuals have no respect for human life. To break in when someone is in the safety of their home is terrifying. The victim should post a description of these 4 criminals. Burglary is one thing but attempted murder brings this incident to an entire different level. The SPD will catch these criminals, we have to have faith and support their efforts. I know many of our neighbors are on high alert and unfortunately won’t hesitate to protect their lives & loved ones. Prevention is so key, please talk to your neighbors and report any suspicious behavior/ unfamiliar parked cars, narcotic activity and people walking up middle of street with an accomplice walking the alleys- burglar casing. Be safe and don’t wait to call 911.

MB June 14, 2012 (12:52 am)

My sister was walking home from the busses when the cops arrived at this incident. She asked a neighbor what was going on and he just told her to leave it alone. I understand that sometimes its better to be uninvolved, however as a neighbor it would’ve been nice if they informed her that there were a bunch of idiots running around the neighborhood with guns instead of letting her finish her walk home in that immediate area with the chance of something happening. We need to watch out for each other instead of being so careless. I hope those losers get caught!!

Neighbor June 14, 2012 (8:30 am)

I would bet it is related to the 4 new graffiti tags that appeared on the former vacant masjid the next day. I wish an entrepreneur with money to invest and a heart towards our community would turn that vacancy into a cafe so it wouldnt get tagged.

K June 14, 2012 (5:01 pm)

Speaking of money poorly spent:
This is my story.
My neighbor was blaring obnoxious cuss filled and violent music. There were underage people there throwing up on the street. I called noise complaint 911 twice in one night. Three days later my house was broken into. Furniture smashed to pieces, nothing taken, odd hammer found on premises. The police were called and they took fingerprints. I had to live outside of residence for two weeks while repairs were made. One “detective” that I spoke with suggested that I had done the crime. The other detectives were very kind and helpful but would not tell me if neighbor was a suspect or if they had a suspect. They called me shortly after and said that the case had been marked as “inactive”.
Since then I have had the words “you f**king b**ch, you f**king c**t yelled at my house, my car reported as illegally parked, neighbor has said loud enough for me to hear in my living room just after I walked by ” People who call the police in this neighborhood end up raped and shot in their homes”.
The music has gone on and on. I can hear it in my livingroom. It wakes me up in my bedroom. I had to abandone one room and move to another for sleep (can’t use one part of my house). I played phone tag with a criminal attorney regarding this. I had to see a PTSD shrink. The obnoxious music containing mulitple racist and derogatory terms continues. The neighbor also burns substances that cause noxious fumes. The fumes are so toxic that they have made me sick. I have been awakened by the fumes. Multiple neighbors have called the police and fire department about this and the noise.
One neigbhbor told me that she recently called the SW preceint for more info and was told to call every time she was disturbed by music. I called every time and it was 8 times withing a 14 day period.
I called approx one week ago to speak with someone at SW precient and was rerouted to police nonemergency line. I told the operator why I was calling and he said tell me what is happening. I told him my whole story and he said the only thing to do is for either me or my neighbor to move.
In summary I do not know what to do. Concerns that I had after calling SW preceint and being rerouted to nonemerency operator are: 1) I am not sure he is a ligitament source of information and 2) it costs money.
Also I am concerned that I am told to move when I own and the neighbor rents.

Really I am thinking of moving because I can’t stand it anymore and because the police (or their representative) suggested it as a solution. But I do feel as if I have to sue someone for the cost incurred. In my mind, it has gotten so bad that someone must be sued for damages, I just don’t know who. It is an uncomfortable situation for me because I have so much respect for the men and women of Seattle who wear the uniform but at this point I have serious doubts about the ethics and ability of the deparatment. Probably it is a system failure and not failure on the department of the officers.
BTW the music probably covered up the crime. One of the reasons that I have so many complaints about the music…
I used to go to lots of live music shows and I know what loud music is. This is concert level with the persons front door open.

Sorry if this is not the right place to comment on this but am at a loss for what to do….

thought? comments? help?

A June 22, 2012 (1:37 pm)

That is a horrible story and I’m so sorry, that is not ok.

Have you looked to see who owns that house? I’m not a lawyer, but maybe you should look into the possibility of suing the owner of the property. Again, not sure what’s possible, but you never know.

Or have you thought about getting the media involved? You know they have all of those investigative reporters. The last thing the cops need right now is more bad press and maybe they would listen and try and help you rather than suggest you move if there was some media attention on your story.

Good luck.

Jenni July 4, 2012 (1:05 am)

I’m shocked that no one has posted any follow up to this gun shooting burglary. The long journal complaint from “K” has no relevance to our personal safety. I hope that someone will post a description of these 4 perpetrators whom almost murdered a fellow Highland Park resident. I’m active in my block watch and love the safe fun community in my neighborhood. But concerned that SPD hasn’t notified any of the block watch captain requests to inquiries regarding the attempted murder/burglary of this 8100 block victim. Has anyone heard any updates? Advice to “K” ; the comment section is a forum to communicate the topic or event, also befriend your neighbors and offer positive solutions to the problems vs all the personal drama, that’s for facebook.

WSB July 4, 2012 (1:15 am)

I just checked the report narrative that is available online. There is no description beyond three Asian males, one black male, teens. You can download the report from the SPD online system.

Sorry, comment time is over.