West Seattle Crime Watch: TV stations report Highland Park attack

Several people have e-mailed to ask about a case that two TV stations are reporting: A 15-year-old says he was beaten up early Tuesday in Highland Park by attackers with a racist motive, near a staircase at 14th/Holden (map). This first appeared last night on Q13 (here’s their story). They reported that the boy was walking home at 2 am Tuesday when someone asked him for a light; he walked toward the person, and was jumped; the reports say the victim said his attackers told them they were beating him because he’s white. We have no independent information on this so far – police reports aren’t available over the weekend, this incident didn’t appear on the SPD Blotter log of noteworthy cases – so the best we can do, until we get more info (and we do have requests out), is point you to the TV stories: Q13 here, KOMO here.

31 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: TV stations report Highland Park attack"

  • Dean May 29, 2010 (8:28 pm)

    The kid was held down with a gun to the back of his head while they beat him, whipped him, burned him with cigarettes, and pissed on him..for FOUR HOURS!!!!

    This was a case of TORTURE.

    The thugs who did it are inhuman trash and should be put down.

  • A May 29, 2010 (8:35 pm)

    Why is a 15yo walking around town at 2am?!?!

  • Dean May 29, 2010 (9:33 pm)

    This is so typical of Seattle to respond to their own victimization with self-hatred and self-blame..

    > “…no reason for a CHILD to be out that late. Should have been home, in bed, getting a full nights sleep for school the next day. Can’t undo what’s been done – but hopefully this will be a reminder to other parents that you must be aware 24/7 when it comes to raising your children….” <

    These are the type of people who "fall in love" with their pimp or abuser

  • Tinka May 29, 2010 (9:54 pm)

    I think more attention should be drawn to the area of the incident. It just as easily could have been and adult coming home after a night shift at work, walking near the same area. It is a very poorly lit dead end of a street with few houses around. There is constantly litter in the area, graffiti, and enough places to hide from public view any activity that may occur. I hope that the victim continues to recover and that we can find a way, together, to make our streets/neighborhoods safer at all times of the day.

  • cj May 29, 2010 (11:40 pm)

    That area has been known to be gang infested for a long time. I made the mistake of taking a bus through there once 8 years ago and witnessed 3 young men threatening and harassing the bus driver for not giving them a custom trip off the buss rout. I was hoping when I moved back to West Seattle that things had improved with all the money spent new projects.

    Its important to remember in the face of publicized attacks like this that individuals did this to that poor boy and those individuals alone are to blame. I would hate to see this turn into something more than it is.

    • WSB May 30, 2010 (12:06 am)

      CJ’s last line is important – and I have deleted a few comments that went up while we were away from the keyboard for a couple hours.

  • D.C. May 30, 2010 (12:12 am)

    Four hours is a long time. In my experience, bad guys tend to have a short attention span. Obviously, we only have a very limited amount information available to us at the moment, but what the other news organizations are reporting just doesn’t seem to add up to me, for some reason. I guess we’ll see when SPD provides a report, it just sits a little funny from my view.

  • Dean May 30, 2010 (1:05 am)

    Apparently another thing that’s typical Seattle is censorship. WSB, As long as people are afraid to discuss “race relations” in an open and frank manner, the violent side of racism will remain embedded in the social subconscious and lurking by unlit sidewalks of a neighborhood near you.

    Seattle, you need to get some courage

    • WSB May 30, 2010 (1:23 am)

      Racial stereotyping and generalizing are not welcome on this site. Our belief is that the lack of courage actually resides in the management of news sites that refuse to delete, or to decline to approve, racist (and other offensive) comments. This is not one of those sites.

  • terry May 30, 2010 (6:09 am)

    If this turns out to be true, it sounds like a hate crime.

  • Concerned May 30, 2010 (6:14 am)

    Why would anyone blame a “victim” … come on people no matter 6-100 year old (or any age) walking down the street late at night (or daytime) shouldn’t have to fear being attacked!

    We need to make and keep our Seattle a safe place to live! Young or old, need to work together to make it safe! People of many different thoughts and cultures live in a community, we can learn to accept eachother. Wars of any kind are a terrible thing!

  • marty May 30, 2010 (6:35 am)

    I have to agree with Dean on this one. Should we discuss the obvious or bury our heads in the sand and pretend it isn’t happening?

  • guinivere May 30, 2010 (6:54 am)

    Tinka, fortunately there is a way for you to help change the area! The Highland Park Improvement Club is a great group of folks and probably be very happy to support you on your concerns. They are only two blocks away from the incident, here is the contact info http://www.hpic1919.org/?page_id=40.

    Pam, “no reason for a CHILD to be out that late. Should have been home, in bed, getting a full nights sleep for school the next day.” “Should” implies judgement. Without any information about what is happening with this family, I think it is a bit rough to judge.

    Dean, “these are the type of people who “fall in love” with their pimp or abuser”. Stereotyping, and more judgment.

    Best wishes to this family. Life is so difficult these days for so many people. In my opinion, it’s best to send good energy to people in distress rather than judgment.

  • JimmyG May 30, 2010 (7:53 am)

    I suspect that after the police do their investigation, the verifiable facts of this incident will differ significantly from the sensationalized versions currently being shown on the TV stations.

  • As-If May 30, 2010 (7:58 am)

    A-Time of day or night has nothing to do with crime!
    Tinka-Lighting has nothing to do with crime. You can’t light the whole world, or police the whole world. Low life criminals commit crimes no matter what time of day it is, because our laws and punishments are not carried out against those who break those laws.
    cj- “mistake of taking a bus”??? Public transportation should be a safe mode of travel for law abiding people. Don’t they have cameras on those busses? The “harrasment” of bus drivers should not be tollerated.
    WSB- It is racict. Don’t hide from the facts. The victim stated that the guys said that “they were beating him because he’s white” for goodness sake! Put the news story on the other foot. If a group of white thugs did this to a black youth, we would have CNN on our door steps for weeks, and the good people of West Seattle would be branded as bigots. We need to call Crime, Crime, realize that it is color blind, make sure that there is teeth in our laws, and give full support to our police.

  • Seattleizer May 30, 2010 (9:07 am)

    Meanwhile…..You can catch MORE of these kids in action DAILY here in West Seattle. They spend hours at the bus stops hassling and intimidating people. They have been in altercations with the employees of many business’s here in West Seattle. (Too many to list here.) On April 11th I counted 10 of them (along with an adult who left as police arrived) who were stopped and questioned by police. They had been yelling at people while they were walking on California. They were yelling “F-YOU F@&&OTT!” and “I’LL KILL YOU WHITEY” at people as they were walking to Honk Fest. The people (2 guys in their 40’s?) called 911 and waited for the police to arrive. The kids were actually shoving these 2 guys (who by the looks of them could have kicked these little brats rears) along California as they talked to 911.

    If the police wouldn’t have shown up I think it would have resulted in a serious offense.

    An adult, who the kids summoned from an apartment above the bus stop at CA and Hudson, was heading in the direction of the 2 adults (walking down the middle of California) right past us in our car as we also called the police. He was heading straight for the 2 guys that the kids had been yelling at and shoving with one hand grasping SOMETHING LARGE AND LUMPY IN HIS SKI JACKET POCKET..GUN MAYBE???? WE THOUGHT SO.) He turned and left with one of the kids when he saw the police arrive down the street. (nice sunny day and a ski jacket? WTF?). I thought we were moments away from a shooting. After the police apprehended the kids I went over and asked them what the community can do to turn this around? They said the following:

    “THESE KIDS ARE A BIG PROBLEM. THEY ARE KNOWN TO US. WE NEED PEOPLE TO REPORT EVERY INCIDENT INVOLVING THEM. MANY THINK THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE 14-15 YRS OLD THAT THEY AREN’T “REAL TROUBLE”.

    I think anyone who reads this article or the story of the officer who was beaten by kids like this can see that’s not the case.

    They identify themselves as “The Junction Bloods”. I hear them constantly using the n-word LOUDLY and dropping f-bombs at the bus stop across from Easy Street or out in front of Circa where they like to spit “just behind people as they walk by” yelling at them if they react. I see it just about EVERY DAY. Another favorite is to yell homophobic phrases of all sorts at each other and passers by.

    On kid in particular wears a Washington Generals Jackets (RED CUS HE’S BLOOD YOU SEE) I have watched and called police as he bashed in the glass of a bus shelter. I watched and called the police at yet ANOTHER bus stop as he kicked in then tore out the lower panel of the shelter as a 13-14 year old girl watched. Somehow…(because they’re minors?)….People just walked by them as if it’s not happening. Me??? I called the police. You should to. I can’t be the only one who sees these kids DAILY.

    I read the other day about these kids on WSB. The cops identified them in an article here as “The Junction Bloods”. The strange thing is that the WSB claims they have no reports of these kids or their activities….I find that hard to believe since I myself have called WSB about these very events….

  • cherylc May 30, 2010 (9:23 am)

    I also think the story doesn’t quite add up. BUT, there’s nothing this boy could have done that would justify being attached this way (there’s a photo on the PI-someone clearly attacked him). I wish him and his family a speedy recovery.

    And, there’s pretty much nothing good about the racial bias angle. If he made it up, that’s very bad, and if it happened it’s very bad. Either way, he’s a kid who has been through something horrible.

  • DOC May 30, 2010 (10:10 am)

    WSB, Thanks for actually keeping this comment section pretty clean. I was looking on some other more major news organizations comments sections and there are just some deplorable statments there. None of that stuff needs to be passed around when it is just filled with hate. However there are some pretty good comments as well.

  • Ken May 30, 2010 (10:19 am)

    That’s a pretty high traffic area even after midnight.

    And the idea that teens of any color have the attention span to do anything for four hours does not match experience.

    We shall wait and see what, if any details come to light.

  • EyeLiveInWestSeattle May 30, 2010 (10:34 am)

    You don’t want to “discuss” anything… you only want to spew your “opinion” and I agree with the WSB on this one – this isn’t the place for anyone’s opinion on racial issues. Take it to a public meeting where you aren’t able to be anonymous.

  • WTF May 30, 2010 (10:39 am)

    Let’s wait until the rest of the information is gathered. I’m the first one to volunteer to pull the switch, but I too am scratching my head at the current reporting and more than tempted to wince about a 15yo out that late at night (be real people!). Once we have the SPD report (more reliable than KOMO, in my mind), let’s discuss without generalizing. One thing I will whole-heartedly agree with, that area is awful. WSB, you’re doing a GREAT job reporting in a defusing manner.

  • wfprice May 30, 2010 (11:49 am)

    Our belief is that the lack of courage actually resides in the management of news sites that refuse to delete, or to decline to approve, racist (and other offensive) comments. This is not one of those sites.

    Well, I don’t think it takes any courage at all to censor objectionable speech, but maybe that’s just me. In any event, I do the same on my site, but I’m not going to claim to be a hero for it — it’s simply a way to avoid flame wars and keep discussion reasonable.

    As for the people going on about how this 16-year-old kid had no business being out at night, I’d like to know how that in any way justifies beating, whipping and burning someone.

    And why is it that a lot of people refuse to believe what the kid told the cops? I grew up in the south end and was threatened on several occasions for being a white boy. Hell, when I went to Garfield High School in the early 90s racial abuse directed toward white kids was so common that we all simply learned to ignore it.

    Also, note that the kid’s black friend believes the story. If he’s cool with black people, which he has to be with a black friend, why would he make something up about a hate crime?

    I, for one, believe him. The whip scars on his back tell the story quite accurately, don’t they?

  • DOC May 30, 2010 (1:26 pm)

    Wfprice,
    I have to say, I love the “but I have a black friend, there is no way I could be racist” argument that you are making.

  • MB May 30, 2010 (5:19 pm)

    I don’t understand why this story is not making more headlines. The pictures of this kid’s face are horrible! I personally think it’s weird that he was out alone that late as well, but it really isn’t that uncommon. I don’t see why that would at all justify him being beat up like this, even if there is more to the story. Some of you make it sound like it’s his fault because he was out late. Give me a break! That’s like saying a girl with a low cut shirt on is asking to be raped. And to those that assume he is lying that it was because he is white…why is that so hard to believe? Did you not grow up around here? My white husband got the crap kicked out of him on multiple occasions because he was white when we were in high school in West Seattle. And I had numerous racist comments directed at me for no other reason than because I am white around here when I was younger. Even so, I feel so fortunate to have grown up in this area and to have attended some of the most multicultural schools in the state and to have been exposed to so many different cultures growing up, because it made me smart enough to know that just because one or two ignorant people said something mean to me, that didn’t mean they were speaking for their entire race. Bad people come in every color period. I hope he recovers quickly and I hope they find the scum that did this to him and I would feel EXACTLY the same way if the victim was black and the perps were white.

  • cherylc May 30, 2010 (6:07 pm)

    I would like to clarify that I’m not skeptical of his story because he is white, but because the story sounds a little off. Of course there is racially motivated violence in West Seattle, of all kinds. But the duration of the attack makes it sound like he was inside someone’s house or apartment, and the whole thing, to me, sounds like an attack between people who knew each other. Like others have noted, four hours is a long time. OTH, maybe it happened exactly the way he said. It’s certainly possible. In any case, no one deserves that.

  • Gordan Gartrell May 30, 2010 (6:13 pm)

    You mean all those times when I was jumped and called “white-boy” were hate crimes? Its about time! If you’re white, you’re a target. You are seen as weak, rich, and unwilling to fight back. I would say a good 90% of all my fistfights growing up were because I was targeted for being white. It taught me ignorance comes in all colors.

  • S June 1, 2010 (7:59 am)

    Did the earlier reports say he was beaten for four hours? Those latest stories seem to indicate he was passed out for about four hours – not quite so unbelievable. And walking home from a nearby friend’s house, not “walking around”, as characterized above. I don’t see anything in these latest stories that’s all that unbelievable.

  • wolfbain June 1, 2010 (12:19 pm)

    these guys that did this are cowards. they will reap what they sow.

  • WSB June 1, 2010 (2:42 pm)

    We do now have the police report and are transcribing it to publish so everyone can read for themselves. Have also talked with police, who have no new developments so far today – TR

  • TK June 1, 2010 (2:50 pm)

    I think I may sit on these stairs every few nights with my two pistols and wait for these twerps to come back and attack me for being a white girl. LOL

    I agree that we need to talk about race and racism to expose the boil to the air in order for it to heal.

Sorry, comment time is over.