That King County Sheriff’s Office sergeant is one of several KCSO investigators walking Roxbury between 14th and 15th, looking for evidence in a shooting. All we know so far is that one person was shot and is at the hospital. When we get new information, we’ll be updating the story on our partner site White Center Now. (Early-morning note: The victim died overnight, KCSO confirms.)
I live nearby so I have a right to comment on this.
How much worse does White Center have to get before this happens again? I feel the drug use and prostitution are getting worse.
I guess we treat it like we did before, wait until it gets really bad, rush in there with multiple agencies, clean up the trash, everyone cheer “yay White Center is on its way back up” and then let it slide slowly back into the gutter. only to repeat the process again and again.
KING 5 is reporting that the victim has died. I also live near by and have not experienced the so claimed increase in criminal activity. My job is relocating to White Center and I am looking forward to the move.
Yes, I have noted that in the White Center Now story to which this links – the only reason for crossposting here was because Roxbury was closed. Once we’ve reached KCSO for an official update, it’ll be there too. KCSO presents crime-trend briefings at each meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council and while those do not usually include what Smokey refers to, the rates of violent crime, burglary, etc., have been low. Auto theft has spiked lately, as it did earlier this year on this side of the line.
this is a small stretch of road and not highly populated for the amount of murders/shootings taking place in this area.
is school on break now or was this a school night….did this happen after midnight on a school night?
Have no idea if the victim was a student or if so whether Highline, Seattle, someplace else. KCSO’s still collecting info, as this is a multi-scene investigation given that whomever was driving the car in which the victim was riding then drove him to the North Highline Fire District station a couple miles south.
The victim was a 17 year old male. My daughter attended Sylvester Middle School in Burien with him and then on to Highline.
Thank you, Rockberry. We have more basic details in our WCN story including that the victim was a 17-year-old boy, riding in a car when a bullet was fired into it, hitting him … but there is no ID made publicly yet and that would normally come from the King County Medical Examiner later in the day anyway.
Yes. And we reiterate, no victim-blaming, thank you, regardless the victim’s age or any other aspects of the situation. At this point, by the way, it appears the deadly shot was fired as the car containing the victim was driving away.
I don’t think White Center has slid back into the dark ages- I live there, and have, for 7 years.
Yes, there are problems- yes, it is imperfect. But there have been positive changes.
We need to be careful not to generalize the entire area as a cesspool of problems when it’s not.
it is getting worse. just over a week ago there was a rape in progress in the alley behind the main business area in WC – stopped not by police but by a business owner. There are crack zombies roaming the streets all the time. I want to patronize WC businesses but do I have to fear for my life every time? Where is law enforcement? There’s a cop shop right there but there is never any law enforcement presence.
I sat on a murder trial last June for a murder that took place right on 16th a few years back at the Seattlr Roll Bakery. The details that were revealed during the trial about the area were eye opening. For those of you that say White Center isn’t that bad of an area, I can say plainly, you’re wrong. There is a whole under current of gangs, drugs and violence that exists. I heard it right from the source. According to the prosecutors and detectives we had a Q and A session with post trial, the area is heating up and not in a good way. My 2 cents.
This corner is horrible during the day, much less at night. I have no idea why, but I have heard that Metro even has a nickname for this area.
So sad that a 17 year old kid lost his life.
Another shooting in white center again!! Maybe this isn’t the neighborhood to raise my son in!!! This is getting insane! Not even 2 months after my bfs uncle got shot and killed theres another one? When I was growing up I was able to walk around the block at 7 by myself, but I be damned if I let my son do that!!! This neighborhood isn’t safe anymore! I hope things can change :(
I notice the types of people around changed for the worst when the DSHS office opened and also tent city residents from marginal way would hike up the hill to WC and panhandle. I can’t go to Bartells without being approached by vagabonds or welfare people asking for money or for me to buy the EBT Food stamp card. I don’t know what it’s gonna take to get the help we need here and clean this place up.
I live nearby and this is tragic. How do we make our neighborhood safer? Who do we lobby to in government? What community organizations can we support that are working to mske this part of Seattle/White Center safer?
Kristen – Public safety has been a major issue for the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, which meets first Thursdays most months, 7 pm, at the fire station (1243 SW 112th, same place to which the victim in the overnight shooting was driven by whomever was at the wheel of the car in which he was riding … should go without saying but that is always the wrong thing to do, call 911 whenever some sort of serious injury/illness happens, they come to you).
I’m sending love and light to the family. I am so sorry for your loss. He was too young and I am just so sorry. RIp little man.
I am starting to wonder the same thing Kristen. The rape that occurred at 26th & Roxbury was KCSO jurisdiction, even though the perp could have run across the street to West Seattle. I think the answer might lie in demanding that the City of Seattle annex White Center / unincorporated King County sooner rather than later. I have been told repeatedly that the KCSO is stretched too thin to keep a solid presence in White Center / UKC. Enough is enough!
Have added the official news release from KCSO to our story on WCN. http://whitecenternow.com/?p=11292 – they confirm the victim was from Burien. No arrest so far; reward offered for tips. – TR
Amanda, that’s what I’m talking about!!! I also want to gain more knowledge about the issues which are likely very complex. Neighborhood watches help but what MORE? The main part of Seattle is getting super expensive to live in. We live in a more economically diverse area and I wonder how that, if at all, plays into it. I think I’m writing a letter to the new mayor for starters…
WestSeattleFather,
It is true that there is underreported gang activity involving drugs and violence, but you are assuming that White Center is the only community stricken by this criminality.
The gangs and wanna be’s you learned about in that court room are active all over King County and well beyond in the state. Media has not served our communities well by not informing you and others how widespread the problem is. So people, like you,make assumptions about it in the absence of fact feeding fear.
Here is something to know, perhaps. i have seen drug deals with gang members in Junction restaurants. i have seen gang colors going into Junction bars at night.
The activity is everywhere. Media should be delving into the truth about how pervasive the problem is but for some reason – you are free to speculate with me why –
Those of you who think there is no problem in WC, do you watch the news? I have lived in WS for 7 years. Off the top of my head, 1. Officer Cox was murdered in WC several years ago, 2. a young woman named Sunshine(?) murdered 2 years ago, 3. about 4 years ago, a man who walked into his own home late morning, surprised a bunch of punk kids (friends of his daughter) murdered him, 4. two rapes in the past few months (that have been reported). This is all off the top of my head.
If more police presence is needed- please let the KC Executive & the KC Council(for County issues) & Mayor & City Council(city issues) hear about it so more of respective budgets can go towards Law Enforcement.
And to sound a theme that has sounded before – if you have concerns, show up to the meetings. Whether you believe in community groups or not, they have a direct pipeline to law-enforcement leadership. Yes, everybody should have, but if you have trouble getting through there is at least one meeting each month in WC and one in WS where law enforcement leadership is routinely present: The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, third Tuesday, 7 pm, precinct, and the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, usually the first Thursday, 7 pm, North Highline Fire District. You can either pull the law enforcer(s) in attendance off to the side to talk OR stand up and with all as your witness, cite your concern. I have seen and written about people bringing specific concerns to the WSCPC meeting and action followed. Ryan Cox and 36th/Morgan nuisance house, for starters.
.
City and council meetings also have open mikes. Yeah, the times are inconvenient, but you are allowed to sign up and speak without even saying what you’re going to speak about – if you believe you have a problem nobody is willing to address, both bodies’ meetings are streamed/cablecast live and recorded on video. Take the mike, say that you have seen x happen at x. You’ll get some attention. Public Safety Committee of the City Council, info here:
.
http://www.seattle.gov/council/com_assign.htm#safety
.
County – Law, Justice, etc. Committee of the County Council, info here:
.
http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/committees/law_justice_health_human.aspx
.
Our area’s rep on the County Council (which is elected by district, unlike the City Council, though the latter is of course about to change), Joe McDermott, is on that committee, according to the roster listed online.
.
TR
westseattledood, you are in complete denial. Yes, there is trouble everywhere, no one ever said that but some of the people posting on this blog live there. They care about THEIR neighborhood.
What bars and restaurants specifically do you see gang colors and drug deals in the Admiral district? That is my neighborhood and they are not welcome and need to be told so. I want to know so I can call the managers, unless you have already.
There are certain establishments that will monitor that activity and put an end to it. They have the right to refuse service to anyone they like and some will do it. They will be called racists and uncaring but they will do it anyway.
Westseattledood – You’re really trying to compare the Junction to White Center in regards to drug dealing, gang activity, and criminality? Really? It sounds like you’re legitimizing and rationalizing a pervasive culture in White Center that reeks of gangs/murder/rape/drugs. Next Will you try to compare Mercer Island or Medina crime stats to White Center?
I hope the perpetrator’s caught, post haste. RIP to the victim, his family and friends. Tragic.
To the first commenter, you complain and dislike so much about white center knowing how horride it is but yet you still choose to live here. Im fully aware of how bad white center is but no matter where you go youre gonna see the saaame sh-t just different day. Obviously white center isnt a perfect fit for you
ha ha, I just knew that this was going to be the atmosphere on this subject. I love it when people say how normal White Center is to the rest of the neighborhoods, love it! I love WC, but be real people, if you think it is just as safe to walk in that area at night as it is in the Junction you must be one of the crack heads I keep seeing hanging out on the corners in WC. Acting like there isn’t any bigger problem then anywhere else is NOT going to change the place for the good. You must face reality to change reality! But it’s much more PC to just keep on acting like its all good…
Sure Steve, I’ll tell you my life story and how I got here if you tell me your’s.
White Center is scary, especially on 15th, and especially at night.
There is criminal, gang, and drug activity in White Center as there is all over the city. I think it is far more productive and better use of our time to address it in ways that several posts suggest rather than engage in a debate with our neighbors about which neighborhoods are better or worse.
My thoughts are with the family of the 17-year old victim.
Steve: Im fully aware of how bad white center is but no matter where you go youre gonna see the saaame sh-t just different day. Obviously white center isnt a perfect fit for you
Eric: Yes, this maybe true, but the difference is, living in some neighborhoods you’ll see this first hand from out your window, and in others, you might see it on the news on the comfort of your couch.
I’m not trying to diss White Center, but I think one is deluding themselves to think that no matter what neighborhood they live in, they’ll have the same experiences.
Thank you, WSB for all the great info about how we can be productive around this issue!
Well said Kristen, I agree. Thanks for the links and info about the community meetings, WSB.
Until 2-ish years ago, there was a White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition. Unlike the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, though, it was tethered to grants and professional staff members that those grants funded; when the grants ended, a local faith-based organization offered leadership for a while, but what remained of the group dwindled. That’s when the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, which has kept going despite losing its county funding, upped its focus on public safety, along with other issues, and has had several forums. The White Center storefront deputy B.J. Myers attends almost every NHUAC meeting, and often KCSO precinct-level leadership is there too. – TR
To those who addressed my comment:
You assume and assumptions are always trouble here in WSB land. The clear truth is you each have no idea what I think or know, where I live, what I do or don’t do, what I care about and how committed I have been to my neighborhood. But all of this is far less important than participating in your community off your computer screen, which is a pet peeve.
Go to meetings. Get involved. Shake cages.
And watch out for those assumptions.
We have lived on the corner of 17th and barton for 3 years, the drugs, prostitution, and gang violence is real bad. We call the police atleast twice a week. We need law enforcement to really focus on the white center area. It’s sad when you can’t let your kids go outside to play. This place is no place to raise kids. I Do not recommend moving here.
And just a reminder / FYI. The Westwood/Roxhill/Arbor Heights Community Council has invited SPD SW Captain Steve Wilske to our April 1st meeting. We are just as concerned about the fate of WC / UKC as everyone as we directly border them. If you want to talk about cross line policing and coordination, please come
*
Tuesday, April 1st
6:15 – 7:45
Meeting Room
SW Library
35th & Henderson
Ridiculous almost to the point of being comical…. OMG… I was disturbed about the recent shooting and sexual assaults in the area. Me and work place friends discussed it and they all decided I should move. Funny thing is… I got a call from my uncle in Detroit who described in detail the plight of that city. I didn’t even ask he just volunteered it because it’s a way of life there.
Take away for me 1) if we keep our heads down we probably have nothing to worry about and 2) always be armed (in some way… not necessarily gun) and ready to fight back. I try not to let my harsh roots shine through… just because.. But my mother was also very, very tough. She explained to me many times during the years… ” If they walk in uninvited, make sure they can’t come back”. Its super old school kind of roach motel ” they walk in they don’t walk out”. Just my thoughts and perspective.
TR, thanks for reporting and acknowledging the gang tats on this kid in the post on the $1M bail 3/24.
It aint no compton but it aint no beverylyhills…it has its up an downs like every hood its the people that make it this way stop supporting the panhandlers whos to say they dnt take ur money go get high then rape or kill ive lived there all my 23 years of life an have worked there 8 years ya thrres bad but nothin how my parents say it use to be in the end people r in gangs people rape people steel sous the people need to change for our youg
R.I.P “Ruben” if any one can help with a Donation to help Transport Ruben’s Body To Mexico, So his Mother is able to See him for the last time and give him a burial, PLEASE HELP!!! Family in Need of Help!!! Thanks God Bless…
“Community” – has anyone set up a fundraising page for that? If anyone involved e-mails us at editor@westseattleblog.com I could write a separate story. Thank you. – Tracy
Sorry, comment time is over.
| 46 COMMENTS