Reader reports: Gunshots last night near 44th/Hanford

| Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

Two people just e-mailed WSB about this. The following account is from Luckie (thank you!):

Last night at about 7:50, three shots were fired on SW Hanford near 44th Ave, and then a car was heard speeding away toward California Ave. I immediately called 911, as did several other neighbors. This morning, I searched the area where I heard it happen, and found three bullet casings and a slug in the street. A neighborâ€™s car, parked on the street, now sports two bullet holes. We called the police non-emergency number, and an officer arrived about five minutes later. She gathered the evidence and took statements. I donâ€™t wish to give any more details, but this car was a specific targetâ€”this wasnâ€™t a random shooting.

We will be checking with the Southwest Precinct to see if there is anything more. MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: Lt. Steve Paulsen @ the precinct says, “We are working hard on this … [indeed] it was not a random event.”

Jan January 13, 2008 (1:28 pm)

how nice…Saturday night hi-jinks…makes one feel so warm and fuzzy about the neighborhood. I guess one could be philosophical and say that at least it was just a car, and not a human…thank goodness…

SL January 13, 2008 (2:51 pm)

Last night my spouse and I also heard three to four shots then followed by a speeding car and immediately went outside to determine which direction they come from. We live between Andover and Charlestown in the 3800 block of 46th and have a perspective of several streets but could see or hear no other activity. The shots were so loud that they sounded as if they had come from our alleyway between 45th and 46th streets. We didn’t find anything in the alley and when we visited with our next door neighbors we found out that they too had heard the shots.

Wes January 13, 2008 (3:28 pm)

I heard those shots, looked out my window but did not see anything so thought it was backfire or something. I live close to there but not on that street so I did not see the car that sped away. Scary.

dq January 13, 2008 (3:35 pm)

good detective work, Luckie. just wondering if the police arrived after y’all called 911. if so, it makes me a little nervous that you had to find the casings and the slug…

Jan January 13, 2008 (3:40 pm)

hey, Wes…we’re in the same neighborhood, sort of…I’m just east of Safeway…

GenHillOne January 13, 2008 (4:13 pm)

I wondered the same thing dq!

s January 13, 2008 (4:36 pm)

wow…i’m glad i wasn’t home at that time last night…since i live a block from that intersection…scary.

SL January 13, 2008 (4:41 pm)

My wife and I also heard the three to four shots last night immediately followed by a speeding car. We are in the 3800 block of 46th and the shots sounded as if they came from our alleyway. We immediately went out onto our deck but didn’t see any cars in either direction. Amazing to find out that the shots were four blocks north. It is alarming to think this is happening in our once quiet neighborhood.

Wes January 13, 2008 (4:58 pm)

Yeah I am by Madison. You know once I thought I heard a gunshot out in the front of my house, and I ran outside to see and saw an old car backing up slowly and driving slowly away. I thought, “Oh it just backfired”. When I came back in, my neighbor who had walking his dogs, knocked on the door to tell me he just a car drive full speed into my new truck and take off. Doh! Never caught the guy and yep he hit the front of my truck on the side facing the street that is why I did not notice. Went outside and have of my truck was up on the curb and the other half lying in the street. Ahhh, memories.

c January 13, 2008 (5:40 pm)

I can almost guess what house that car was visiting……. between 44th and 45th on Hanford?

I live down the block. I didn’t hear the shots but have noticed the traffic in the area.

LisaM January 13, 2008 (6:22 pm)

I live on 44th and heard the shots loud and clear – took a look at the car and saw the bullet holes – not a sight I would ever expect to see around here – wow.
Yes, that house seems to have a group of young guys hanging around – a neighbor said the car belongs to one of the young men who lives there but is currently out of town…

Jan January 13, 2008 (9:14 pm)

so…this house with the young men? are we talking young men over the age of, say, 18, that should be out working, going to college, etc? or are we talking teenagers? If it’s the latter, are there any responsible adults? Hah…I suupose I should also ask…if it’s the former, are there any responsible adults? Are they owners? Renters? If renters, does anyone know the landlord? Maybe contact him/her/them and see if an eviction can be done? Sounds like they’re not needed in the neighborhood…

Wes January 13, 2008 (11:14 pm)

c and LisaM, I am well aware of this house too. They always seem to go over to the stairs that lead down to 46th. When I told my wife about this, that was the first house she thought of. [comment edited by WSB]

WSB January 13, 2008 (11:38 pm)

Hi all. I have to step in with a request and a warning. There’s a fine line between discussing observations and suspicions and possibly outright libeling/slandering somebody – everyone has been pretty good about not specifically mentioning the house in question by number etc., but I had to delete a few specifically identifying words off the end of Wes’s last comment. I hope you all have talked with police about this house and your concerns, but please avoid absolute specifics here (as Luckie was careful to do in her original report) – otherwise, we are glad to be a place where you all can talk more about what’s happening and what you’re observing, and we appreciate that when folks in one neighborhood say “we saw this” or “this happened,” another neighborhood might hear about it and say “hey, us too.” Channeling the fine folks at the Southwest Precinct now, I would also say: Do you have a block watch?

Gina January 14, 2008 (7:00 am)

I had to go all the way back to August to find the link to the block watch parties:
https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=2639

Without any specifics, I can see that the neighborhood is covered.

The stairs between 45th and 46th on Hanford have been a hideaway for kids for years and years. The City does keep their property fairly cut back, but just try to walk on the sidewalk on 46th, private property owners have let things completely overgrow the sidewalk. So there is little foot traffic by there. So it is more isolated. Making the stairway even more attractive to loiterers…

Wes January 14, 2008 (7:03 am)

Noted, sorry.

Luckie January 14, 2008 (8:04 am)

Okay, I have to step back in now, because I see a lot of speculation going on that I must address. I know the owners of the car. The family are long-term West Seattleites, and they are not criminals. Everyone involved is a responsible adult, and this event on Saturday night is as surprising to them as it was to me. In fact, as far as I know, the evidence is leading away from the young men and toward some rough elements at another (older) member of the house’s workplace;someone getting angry and taking it out in a stupid way. I’ve never had a problem with anyone in that house. The young men I have met have never been anything but polite and respectful. And yes, there are college students among them. If they or their friends have anything to do with the shooting, I will be very surprised. (By the way, if you have a problem with anything you see, I suggest you go talk to them. They’ll listen.)

Lee January 14, 2008 (8:41 am)

Wow. If that time and location is right, I was walking my dogs within close proximity. I didn’t hear or see anything, which is perhaps not surprising, given I was listening to music on my Zune. You’d think my dogs would have reacted, given their aversion to loud noises, but I don’t recall them getting scared by anything.

If the location is correct, the pushpin on the map is off by five blocks. 39th is to the east of California, not the west.

dq January 14, 2008 (12:30 pm)

i’m still curious if the police came when 911 was called after the intial incident.

S5 January 14, 2008 (12:45 pm)

I live east of Hiawatha Playground and heard the three shots just before 8:00 p.m. on Saturday. They sounded so much closer than 44th & Hanford! This was the first time I’ve heard gunshots since moving to West Seattle, so it was a little scary. My question is, if the police were called right after it happened, did they not see the car that had been fired upon? And wouldn’t they have taken the casings/slug (found later by Luckie)as evidence? Or have I just been watching too many crime dramas on TV?

JL January 14, 2008 (6:08 pm)

I was at home Sat night and didn’t hear a thing, which is weird, because I live very close to “the house”. Perhaps we had the TV on too loud. Since we moved here we’ve heard all kinds of noise on the street late at night – mostly arguments, a few fights, and the occasional door slamming and car speeding off. Seems like folks come to visit “the house” at all hours, stay for a few minutes and then leave. Gee, what could be happening? To date I have not called the police to report anything, but I will now.

Sorry, comment time is over.