From Michael in Gatewood:
Would like to spread the word on this one. On the 3900 block of Southern [map] our neighbor’s home was burglarized. Burglar used an ax to go through a secured back door in the middle of the day, Friday, August 21. Seattle Police were dispatched and came to house. No one hurt. No one saw or heard a thing, unfortunately. What concerns us is the violent nature of this break-in.
I live close to here and this creeps me out. My husband is a morn/day sleeper and I am often home in the day w/my toddler. I often leave when my husband is sleeping but now I have to set the alarm and make sure all the windows are closed even when he is there because we know these break-ins are getting more brazen in the daytime.
“Violent”? The burglar hurt someone?
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I prepare for the avalanche of confirmation bias.
See definitions 1 and 3.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/violence
michael, your passion for condescension and your desire to see people on WSB as hysterical may have gotten the best of you this time, for the defition of “violence” is not limited to hurting someone. says merriam webster’s first definition for the word: “1 : marked by extreme force”. i might argue taking an axe to someone’s door fits that definition quite nicely.
Wow. I’m so sorry that happened to you. With an axe? That’s crazy. Fits my definition of brazen, if not psychotic. “Broad daylight” break-ins are pretty common though, from what I’ve heard, because thieves prefer an empty house – so they come when people are at work. At night they sleep like everyone else. When we first moved to W Sea our house got broken into at about 1:00 in the afternoon, in full view of a major arterial. Our car got broken into last night, which I’m pretty annoyed about – the trunk and glove compartment were ransacked. Anyway I am glad you are all safe – that’s the important thing.
WOAH. That’s a little too close for comfort. Like a block away. I have been meaning to start a California-to-Morgan-to-Thistle-to-35th neighborhood listserv, might be time to get that going now that summer’s over.
Bikejuju- sign me up for the listserv! I think that’s a wonderful idea.
@bikejuju:
Count me in dude! We are also only about a block away and after our own 3rd burglary a couple of months back, I am done.
So far, our guests went for somewhat easy entries and I think that I have blocked those now – but coming with an axe? Seriously!
Soon, we will have to literally keep them from entering our property. Just like in the middle ages…
I can’t believe no one heard the ax pounding away at the door – or maybe they did and thought nothing of it. We need to watch over our neighbors people! especially in these days of break-ins that seem to happen EVERY single day in West Seattle.
Did the burglar take anything?
I’m also a block away, home today from work…pretty psyched to reading this, with the music cranking in living room, and screen door in back wide open.
I can’t stress it enough. Be a nosey neighbor! This morning I went outside because there was a truck parked in front of our house and something going on. The person right away showed id and told me what he was doing. This was at 8:30 AM. I thanked him and went back inside.
Please also sign me up for that listserv. We also seem to be neighbors because I am also a block away.
What’s a listserv and why would it be beneficial? Should/could I start one in my neighborhood?
It’s easier to burglarize a home in broad daylight between 10am and 12pm because folks are working and the neighborhood isn’t expecting.
if you don’t have a security system, at least go on ebay and buy the stickers – I bought four Brinks stickers, think it cost me $20. I also leave a radio tuned to NPR during the day. If they hear voices and see a Brinks sticker, I would assume for most would-be criminal types that would be a deterrent and they would move on to someplace “easier”. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t…but it gives me some piece of mind.
Thanks for sharing this Michael. This is so scary. Locks aren’t enough, that’s for sure.
Listserv = e-mail list software, with nice things like auto-subscribe/unsubscribe and double opt-in, though nowadays you can get the same features in some other online (like WordPress plugins that let you subscribe to comment threads, hint hint :)
Anywho, bikejuju has the right idea. We are many, the thieves are few. Let’s get to know our neighbors and start watching out for each other. See something, say something! I’d also like to see more police patrols in the area myself but I understand our city budget is hamstrung by the current regressive tax system.
If you do put your items in a safe place … like a safe, bolt the safe to the floor. Ours was stolen from our home in broad daylight, and it weighed quite a bit.Unfortunately, insurance did not cover the contents as we did not have a schedule of the contents for the insurance co.
Side note. We found out who did the dirty deed and he later robbed a drug store(s) at gunpoint. He was eventually arrested for the drugstore robbery. He is already out of prison after serving less than 3 years. Our burglary was over 5 years ago and we are still hurting from the loss.
Also a block away :)
I was pushing around the baby carriage all day on Friday, as I do most days. The only thing I noticed last week was an unfamiliar car cruising by again and again.
How do these burglars case the neigborhood? Are they the door to door window salesmen? Tipped off by the garbage collector who then takes a cut? It seems like some advance work has to happen to know who is not home and when.
Gabby: It’s a good question. I had a break-in attempt when I went to New Zealand for a few weeks and neglected to put my lights on timers. Someone who I assume was not in my neighborhood must have been watching closely and paying attention. After seeing no lights on at night for a couple of weeks they tried to jimmy one of my ground floor windows, set off the monitored burglar alarm and fled. Let me tell you, it is not so fun to be in a remote part of the world and have your alarm company call you to tell you someone is breaking into your house! But I always wondered what system they’re using to keep track of whose lights are out. There is no way of knowing for sure but we don’t see a lot of strange cars around here driving up and down the street with a clipboard or something.
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Same thing happened to my neighbors a year later. They went away for the week and didn’t use timers. In their case it was worse because they actually came home from the airport, dropped their suitcases by the door and went to bed. The burglars, thinking they were still away, broke into their place while they were sleeping upstairs. The crooks made off with a bunch of things including laptops and even had the audacity to rifle through the suitcases. They found their keys on a hook by the door and stole their car. Apparently the police caught them later in a chase on I-5 and they totaled the car.
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After that I stopped leaving the keys to my car on the table by my door.
Watch what you leave in your car. August 24th around 7pm, we were at Westwood Village and parked in the west lot by Bed Bath and Beyond. Away from our car only an hour, we came back to broken glass and missing items from our car. No cameras anywhere. Bummer.
JC, I am really sorry to hear that your car broke into. I have been studying/analyzing people in westwood village – i usually tend to act stupid – when i enter the store door and act stupid to forget something in the car then burglars could not have any patience to wait for someone to leave their cars… and make sure you look around and notice someone in the car. if someone is sitting in the car and doing nothing, just look down the license plate, model/type of car (it would help with police) if you could memorize and write down – i always have guts to write down in front of their eyes – sometimes they freak out and start the engine to depart.
Gabby, if you happen to see the vehicle showing some strange – try to remember the license plate and have your cell phone ready – sometimes the police will respond and come…
Ditto samson’s comment on writing down the license plate number of a car that is “not quite right” – my folks had an attempted break-in last year in N. Admiral, and the neighbor thought to write down the license plate of a strange car parked down the street that same day… upon finding out about what happened at my parent’s, the neighbor added their information to the police report. The police contacted the registered owner of the vehicle (the fact that they didn’t live in WS may have been a reason to follow up on the lead – “what were you doing in WS on the afternoon of the 5th?”), and he turned himself in immediately – he explained he was looking for “easy targets” in order to score Rx narcotics.
how do we get the new candidates for mayor to the crime watch meetings or to a meeting about the crime in west seattle. There are only two so they will both realize the way to get the votes of this area and keep thier job a second term is to be proactive, I know I have called 911 and never had anyone show up, the rising level of daylight break-ins in the area should be on thier list of things to fix.
This is our chance to get something done, we all love the WSB ( i really do) but posting comments does not get cops on the beat and crime rates down. Im f*n sick of the rising crime and 911 is useless in this area.
Thanks
My house was “violently” broken into in October of 2007. The back door was bashed in and broken beyond repair.
The material things they stole were nothing compared to the problem of not feeling safe at home anymore.
WOW, I guess my previous comments on another blog entry might have been more appropriate for this one…
Sorry, comment time is over.
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