West Seattle Crime Watch: Shot fired in Gatewood fight

Seattle Police say somebody fired a gun during a street fight overnight in Gatewood. 911 calls reported up to 100 teenagers fighting near 36th and Othello (map) around midnight; just as officers were getting there, other calls reported a possible shot fired. Police say they saw about 30 teens as they arrived, all of whom fled. They also found a shell casing on the street and what the SPD Blotter report describes as “two intoxicated adult male victims,” one of whom told them that several male suspects wearing black clothing and black ski masks got out of a black car and tried to fight him, with one pulling out a gun and firing it into the air. No injuries, no arrests.

24 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Shot fired in Gatewood fight"

  • joel March 9, 2014 (8:32 pm)

    in a past post a neighborhood good guy was telling people we need to take these people under our wings and be good role models for them (I guess they don’t have parents??)

    I’ll need to quit my job and put my family on hold to take 100 of these hoodies under my wings to show them the right way.

    as we get more daylight now the crime is going to get worse and these instances will be a nightly happening.

  • Lox March 9, 2014 (8:35 pm)

    Damn! Scary scene.

  • Seattlite March 9, 2014 (9:07 pm)

    WTH is going on in WS?

  • why don't we March 9, 2014 (10:16 pm)

    All gangs should be declared “terrorist” organizations (because they are) and dealt with just as we do other terrorist organizations.

  • Yup March 9, 2014 (10:48 pm)

    @why don’t we: Sadly, I have come to the same conclusion. Not to say prevention and “scared straight” tactics don’t have their place, but these thugs are inflicting real terror on our communities. They should be in the (literal) crosshairs of Homeland Security.

  • Lindsey March 9, 2014 (11:22 pm)

    My husband and I were at Westwood Village earlier this evening as saw 5 or six police vehicles around the McDonal’s there. Not sure what was going one, but they were definitely talking to some younger individuals.

  • Lindsey March 9, 2014 (11:22 pm)

    FYI that was around 4 or 5 pm

  • h March 9, 2014 (11:23 pm)

    this report really concerns me as I live on othello and had no idea this was going on. Is there anyone with more information about this? I find it really hard to believe this occurred where they said it did, as it is a quiet street

    • WSB March 9, 2014 (11:37 pm)

      H, we went offline much earlier than usual last night but a note from a longtime reader who lives nearby came in at 12:13 am, saying “There are a bunch of cops right now a few houses down from mine. Fire truck came and left.” There is also a 12:02 aid call to 36th/Othello for Engine 37, on the 911 log.
      .
      http://www2.cityofseattle.net/fire/realTime911/getRecsForDatePub.asp?action=Today&incDate=&rad1=des
      .
      So I have no doubt SOMETHING happened there right about that time. But when a reader called our attention to the SPD Blotter report linked in our summary above, I was surprised too, because the way it was written sounded like something of such magnitude we would have had multiple texts/calls. SPD Blotter is written by SPD media-relations detectives from information provided by the officers who responded, so unless a direct witness is reading this and can tell us more, that’s about the best we can do … TR

  • check it out March 10, 2014 (1:03 am)

    Gang activity monitoring has been done by feds (including HSA) back east for years. Given the gang numbers here in King County now, might be within the realms of liklihood there is a growing federal partnership with local LE.

    We are not in Kansas anymore.

  • Community Member March 10, 2014 (6:58 am)

    Terrorism? Bring in Homeland Security? Crosshairs? Over drunken teenagers? That reaction is a whole lot more scary than the actual story of the disturbance.

  • old timer March 10, 2014 (8:10 am)

    100 of them, out in the rain, on a Sunday night @ midnight -really – 100?

  • Rcl March 10, 2014 (8:25 am)

    Around 5 at Westwood QFC I saw a group of young Asian and African American teens come into the store go to the liqueur area And steal about 3-4 bottles of booze. They walk in go to the booze and walk right out. The major problem is the lack of security at that store to stop shoplifting. People walk into that store and walk right out with anything they want. It’s crazy.

  • buckwheat March 10, 2014 (8:43 am)

    With the neutering of SPD by DOJ and the Seattle public it is only going to get worse with these types of events. The gangs are going to thrive in the current environment invited by Seattle..

  • A March 10, 2014 (9:16 am)

    H, I live on that street too. We heard a lot of activity that evening and thought nothing if it – just figured someone was having a party. At one point, we said that now it sounds like a fight. We looked out the window and saw two groups of 6 teens walking east on the sidewalk. They appeared to be having a good time, laughing and talking loud. Again, we thought nothing of it. It did seem unusual in that it was a louder evening than usual and lots of activity on the street.

  • CD March 10, 2014 (10:13 am)

    To CM yes a little exteme, but if you have ever found yourself alone, day or night, and come across a group of young people, girls or boys,
    that are all wearing the same color clothing, in a crowded area or walking on the public sidewalk, and then have them start talking and threatening you, then you will wish there was more of an outcry for help with gangs. They are real and they are growing. And teens drinking IS a big deal! Did they steal it? Did a parent buy it for them? I understand being young, but if we continually turn a blind eye to underage drinking, we as adults are only contributing to the potential downfall of a very promising youth!

  • Community Member March 10, 2014 (10:59 am)

    I agree that teen drinking is a serious issue, but equating it with terrorism and literally calling for an armed response from National Security forces is just plain ridiculous.
    .
    Also – why are people mentioning gangs at all? Sounds like pretty typical situation of big party-out-of-control, parents went on vacation and trusted the kids. Of course it is right that the cops come, and thank goodness the shot was in the air, but the Ninja-type description – yeah, really? .

  • Lou March 10, 2014 (1:01 pm)

    Hi,

    We were one of the groups that called 911. We heard the gunshot(s) and arguing. We looked out our window and saw some people walking in our driveway among our cars (I assume they were hiding from the person with the gun). I immediately called 911. It was clear they had other simultaneous calls coming in as the dispatcher was talking to another person confirming gunshots in the neighborhood as well. I didn’t run outside to see the numbers as I wanted the copes to arrive first. From our vantage we only saw a handful of people. Neighbors told me their was a party around the corner (unconfirmed) and these kids were from there. The cops arrived quickly and got people dispersed quickly as well.

  • Community Member March 10, 2014 (2:10 pm)

    Buckwheat – the DOJ and the Seattle Public are concerned over excessive force. You can’t really believe that deadly force is the preferred police response to a report of drunken children in a quiet residential neighborhood?
    .
    Rcl – who cares what race they were? I agree that stores selling alcohol have a civic duty, and a legal duty, to prevent their alcohol being stolen. Stores who don’t make reasonable efforts should loose the right to sell alcohol. But what does shoplifting at Westwood have to do with an out-of-control party the night before 1.5 miles away?
    .
    It’s right that the police came. And guns don’t belong at parties or in the hands of teenagers, and guns and alcohol don’t mix. But it really doesn’t sound like terrorism. And talk about “these thugs” is scary Zimmerman-talk that certainly doesn’t make me feel safer.

  • Seattlite March 10, 2014 (3:01 pm)

    Community Member — Are you living in a cloud? Gangsters are all around Seattle. They are thugs, terrorists. They carry guns, knives, deal in drugs and prostition.

    The party described in the posts and reported to the police doesn’t sound like an innocent get together of wholesome kids…no sireee.

  • Skittles for Marshawn March 10, 2014 (4:07 pm)

    I’m also very disturbed by the comments concerning gang activity/terrorism and unrelated incidents involving young minorities. It scares me to think that some people might be inclined to respond to this situation with guns blazing instead of calling the cops. These people are our neighbors and our neighbors’ kids.

    Let’s try to express gratitude that no one was hurt and to SPD for responding quickly and peacefully diffusing this situation.

  • sophista-tiki March 11, 2014 (3:52 am)

    One big difference between what the average citizen PERCIEVES as an out of control- parents arn’t around-“party” and “thugs”, one group is probably all white, and one isn’t.

  • Robert March 11, 2014 (6:06 am)

    to the parents of the west seattle kids..if your darling little kid is not at home ,where is he or it. TRY A LITTLE HARDER TO KEEP TRACK OF WHERE YOUR LITTLE DARLING IS HANGING OUT , AND WHO WITH. THE GANG ACTIVITY IS GETTING BAD. when you are called to the morgue to identify a body with a toe-tag, because you had no idea where your kid was, it is not fun..and getting your little darling out of juvenile detention can get expensive and embarrasing..

  • Ws born and raised March 19, 2014 (3:33 pm)

    Kids having fun… Have we not all been there? I remember countless nights at house parties in WS where I have lived all my life. This is nothing new. You folks need to calm down.

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