Crime Watch reader report: Car window shattered on Alki

| Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

E-mailed by Mark, who then promptly headed off to get the glass replaced:

At around 1:30 this afternoon, I was driving down the 3000 block of 61st Ave. near Alki when my car’s front passenger-side window exploded. Apparently it had been struck by a really fast rock, or else shot with a pellet gun or something similar. I phoned in a police report on the spot, and they responded quickly by showing up and taking down details. Didn’t see the %$#*$@ who did it, although after I pulled over and went to the impact spot to see what I could find, I caught a glimpse of at least two people running behind the houses there, with a male voice shoutingsomething as they ran. The two police officers who responded mentioned that four youths have been caught in connection with the recent similar incidents in the Admiral neighborhood, and although the punks have some little bit of time in juvenile detention coming up, they are currently not being held anywhere. Whether or not this incident is connected to them is anyone’s guess, but the officers did say they were going to check out the nearby streets to see if they could find out anything more.

So that’s that. The good news is that neither my wife nor anyone else was in the passenger seat, otherwise they would have been sprayed with glass.

beachdrivegirl March 5, 2008 (4:13 pm)

Scary! I drive on the same street a few times a day!

Erik March 5, 2008 (4:41 pm)

Yikes! I live on that street. I have a hunch (I’m sure the cops do too) who the culprits are.

iloveapbt March 5, 2008 (6:23 pm)

Sorry to hear this happened too you.

Where were these kids parents?

I think it is time to pass laws that holds parents of kids that commit crimes, financially and criminally liable for these actions.

The way that parents raise their kids today is truly scary

angelescrest March 5, 2008 (6:55 pm)

I will add that school was out early today for teacher meetings. I live there, too. My eyes are peeled! That is so criminal.

add March 5, 2008 (9:08 pm)

Good point about early dismissal days – the after-school programs that usually keep the kids occupied til 4:30 or so get canceled on these days, so there are a lot of kids with a lot of time on their hands after 12:15pm (for middle schoolers, anyway).

sassy March 5, 2008 (9:13 pm)

Early dismissal is not excuse – what kind of *()^* whips a rock at a car? This isn’t a prank – it’s crimimal. Period.

add March 5, 2008 (10:05 pm)

sassy – I totally agree with you, didn’t mean to imply that because kids are out early that it’s to be expected that they will throw rocks at cars. I was just thinking that maybe police/neighbors could be more vigilant on early dismissal days because there are a lot of kids hanging around, unsupervised. for a good chunk of the afternoon.

lala March 6, 2008 (10:56 am)

Good thing there’s so much early dismissal these days.

Let’s see, last time there was early dismissal, some teens were found shooting a gun through a WSB reader’s window.

I wonder who gets shot at next early dismissal?

Reason #12,467 that I’m never having kids.

RS March 6, 2008 (1:05 pm)

lala- word.

Kids these days. Or should I say parents these days. What’s with all the early dismissals anyway? When i was a kid we went to school until 3:30 every day. So to me it seems like every day is an early dismissal anyway.

WSB March 6, 2008 (4:34 pm)

There are good kids too, let’s not forget. We have a middle-schooler technonerd who’s pretty much superglued to his computer (although that certainly is NOT necessarily the mark of goodness, just means I know where he is, but we work from home, and those who don’t, have to come up with some pretty complicated arrangements). Meantime, as for early dismissal – for reasons I still don’t get, middle and high school start much earlier than they did in my childhood – 7:40 in our case. So by the time 2:15 rolls around, it’s been 6 and a half hours, and I don’t ever remember a school day longer than that. On behalf of us parents of night owls, I do wish school started later.

E March 6, 2008 (4:49 pm)

I agree. The kids who cause trouble get all the headlines, but most kids are genuinely good members of our community.

WSB March 6, 2008 (5:04 pm)

And gratuitous plug here, we are always THRILLED to get news about the good kids too — photos, brief e-mails about cool achievements, volunteer work, troops and groups doing neat things, etc. –
editor@westseattleblog.com