71 Replies to "Update: Man stabbed on Alki after two groups clash; police explain response time"

• Rebecca Mitsui June 25, 2014 (11:39 pm)

  Two fire trucks and an ambulance just came down past our house, went north on 55th towards Alki. I hope everyone is okay…

• Bryan June 25, 2014 (11:48 pm)

  10 minutes before this, some lady’s purse/bag got stolen infront of fatburger… A whole gang of kids were running all over alki to find the guy who jacked the purse…. Police show up at 62nd/Stevens to interview teens chasing suspect. Police leave about 11:25.

  … 10 mins later some stabbed a few blocks away.

• Lydia June 26, 2014 (12:10 am)

  911 called at 11:00 pm by residents and passers-by requesting police at 63rd & Alki for two groups (about 20) of males and one female verbally threatening each other. Lots of running and chasing with female pushed to ground which escalated into punching and shoving. Rumors of cell phone recording. Purse nabbed? Was stabbing same group?

  • WSB June 26, 2014 (12:13 am)

    Don’t know. But we’ll certainly have a followup later in the morning. (Edit) As later commenters are noting, a cell phone was involved, and our crew (now back) told us they heard that too.

• buckwheat June 26, 2014 (12:18 am)

  Apparently they did not watch the Mayor’s proclamation of “the summer of safety!”

• witness June 26, 2014 (12:22 am)

  Drunk 17 year olds came down Alki Ave. looking for a fight, on my patio trying to chill out after a long day. Loud and obnoxious. Somebody called them out on their obnoxious behavior and they got their fight.(they kept announcing…you’re going to hit a 17 year old? Same with the girl that started fighting another girl) One of the kids started taking pics, probably will end up on his facebook page. Maybe one of those stupid dares. Just walk away from stupid obnoxious behavior people…It’s not worth it.

• witness June 26, 2014 (12:25 am)

  another witness heard someone in the group say “we came down here for a fight dude, not to fight each other! wtf?

• Cheri June 26, 2014 (12:35 am)

  Fights broke out to the left and then to the right, someone recorded the whole scene but one of the punks stole her phone. Many calls were made to the police, they said they were in the middle of staff change. Some calls were made to warn the police that something was about to happen. It all started by two you fellows were walking down the road. Minding their own business and was approached by this punk who wanted a cigarette. They said they didn’t have any then the punk started to harass the young fellows. Made racial comments thinking they were from the eastern continents. The young punk kept harassing them and others got involved, everything began happening in different parts of the street.

  Funny thing is the police took so long to respond but can hand out parking tickets at 11:00pm. Go figure!

• Chachi June 26, 2014 (12:49 am)

  The most obscene thing of the night was the 25 min response time post 911 call with more than 30 people gathered/meleeing in the street. Come on maaan. It’s Alki not even one within 5 min?

• JanS June 26, 2014 (1:00 am)

  let’s see…were 4 full days into summer…should be an interesting summer down there :-\

• sophista-tiki June 26, 2014 (2:46 am)

  um, didn’t the fuzz just get finished announcing that there was going to be EXTRA patrol/presence on ALKI because school just got out and gang congregating, blah blah blah.

• Eric June 26, 2014 (3:07 am)

  Between what happened and the police response time according to some here, one word….pathetic

• flimflam June 26, 2014 (5:13 am)

  just another summer at the beach!

  /
  wow, so if crime happens during a shift change your out of luck, huh?

• k June 26, 2014 (5:57 am)

  25 min response time?! Terrifying.

• Ana June 26, 2014 (6:26 am)

  The police were called at 11 and the stabbing didn’t happen until ~ 11:20. If the cops would have shown up sooner, the stabbing would have never happened.

• Bryan June 26, 2014 (6:48 am)

  Correction @lydia… Pretty sure you are right about it just being a cell phone.

  SPD needs a pair of bike cops patrolling alki over the summer. Too many punks come down to alki during this time of year

• Neighbor June 26, 2014 (8:06 am)

  Shift change? I think we all deserve a response from the new police chief. How is it that a known trouble spot is continually understaffed and overlooked? At this point there is no excuse.
  If the police can’t keep Alki safe then we deserve an explanation of where our tax dollars are going!

• ttt June 26, 2014 (8:46 am)

  There are not bike cops at Alki for the summer? I’ve seen them down there on hot days…I just assumed bike cops would patrol it all day in the summer– it’s a no-brainer. Common Mayor, it’s supposed to be the summer of safety, get the bike patrol down there everyday!

  • WSB June 26, 2014 (9:05 am)

    Yes, there are police assigned to Alki – we have been reporting this multiple times in recent weeks, most recently the Block Watch Captains’ Network meeting from this past Tuesday and Crime Prevention Council from a week earlier, both of which had the precinct captain in attendance. As for 11 pm last night – we’re asking.

• ellenater June 26, 2014 (8:48 am)

  Alki sucks in the sumer. It’s a magnet for these types.

• W June 26, 2014 (8:55 am)

  It all started with a 17yr who wanted a cig, we said no and to go home. He got upset blah blah blah…everyone started trash talking each other. One girl told another to get a handle on her bf, she got mad, and they started fighting in the middle of the street (all happening before 11pm). Within this time the guys started fighting each other, when the stabbing happened. A girl was recording what had happened when a punk kid stole her phone. The cops showed up 35 mins later when everything ended. We had to wave down the cops actually. They had no idea this was going on.

• alki resident June 26, 2014 (9:15 am)

  Sophista-tiki-I understood that too, just apparently not during shift changes I guess.
  Im relieved my daughter got out of there in time to witness any of this. She and her friends and their parents were having a late meal at Pegasus after spending the day at Wild Waves. I guess this is a taste of whats coming this summer. And a reality check for police to step it up.
  Im really concerned about the amount of kids who showed up to “watch a fight”, I never did this growing up, don’t remember being so desensitized either. Im really afraid for our future.

• sven June 26, 2014 (9:18 am)

  I feel like we as WS residents can’t even enjoy Alki with the violent scumbags that flood in during the summer months. Obviously the police can’t figure it out either.

  I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know if we can fix it. Maybe if we make the summer miserable for them, with cops writing tickets for anything and everything and having an early curfew that is strictly enforced, it’ll force these dirtballs to find another place to pick fights with one another.

  I’m sure any such measure to improve “quality of life” on Alki will be met with cries of racism and discrimination, but at this point I don’t really care. I would like to know what percentage of Alki troublemakers even live remotely close to it?

  This is our park and our beach, not those from Kent or Renton or Burien or wherever. If they want to come here, they need to play by the rules, and the rules need to be enforced (perhaps heavy-handedly for awhile) until I can say to my family, “hey, let’s go to Alki since the weather’s nice” instead of, “well, the weather’s nice, better avoid Alki at all costs.”

• wakeflood June 26, 2014 (9:34 am)

  “Cuz when you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way…”

  or maybe you prefer?…

  “There ain’t a damn thing that the cops can do, there’s a rumble in Brighton tonight!”

  I wonder what officer Krupke would say if someone asked why they had no idea of the incident? That seems really odd. They just happened through on their rounds, did they??

• B June 26, 2014 (9:45 am)

  One or two days in the summer, SPD seems to initiate “marshal law” – officers every 500 feet pulling over anyone who has loud music, expired tags, etc. Huge police presence felt. Maybe we can expand these days to more of the summer, they make a big difference.

• rufus June 26, 2014 (10:03 am)

  Hopefully with new leadership the SPD will reassess priorities and coverage. RT

• Brian Connolly June 26, 2014 (10:12 am)

  @alki resident: Going to an agreed upon location to watch a fight between two peers is a tradition as old as time.

• Scubafrog June 26, 2014 (10:21 am)

  It’s been an awful Spring/Summer down here so far. Motorcycles racing up-and-down at break-neck speeds… Car stereos shaking vases off of our tables, driving up-and-down Alki, with thugs throwing things out of their gang cars at people who’re innocently strolling on the walk.
  –
  This stabbing is just the beginning for the summer, sadly. Authorities really don’t take things seriously until there’s a shooting, or a fatality. I’ve tried to petition Captain Steve Wilske, but the SPD’s already stretched too thin to focus more on Alki. Sadly, voicing our concern at the community meetings don’t do anything – the meetings seem like merely a show of concern.

• alki resident June 26, 2014 (10:28 am)

  Brian- I hate fights and can’t understand why its so exciting to see someone get the crap beat out of them. I can’t even watch a video of it because Ill go into panic mode. I guess I just don’t understand it.

• AIDM June 26, 2014 (10:36 am)

  It would be pretty interesting to take some time and really pick apart this incident and the police response: gather cell phone videos, 911 calls, police reports and get an idea of how the timeline and response really evolved.

• sittingbird June 26, 2014 (10:40 am)

  Same old summer nuisance on the beach. More reasons why I don’t go to Alki anymore besides no parking. I haven’t gone in over two years now. Am I missing anything?

• JanS June 26, 2014 (11:24 am)

  Brian..I’m 67….I don’t remember it being a “tradition” at all. We must be from different areas…east coast here, resident of Seattle for 39 years.

• bolo June 26, 2014 (11:41 am)

  Wondering if the rumors of SPD “depolicing” (because of the DOJ consent decree) that I heard about on the radio this morning are really true?

• Gina June 26, 2014 (11:54 am)

  It used to be called a “rumble”. As in “a bunch of kids from Boren are coming up to Madison, and there is going to be a rumble.” @1975.

• Scubafrog June 26, 2014 (12:27 pm)

  Bolo I’ve wondered the same thing – that this could be the de-policing we read about in the 100-Officer lawsuit. Hands down, this spring and summer have been unbearable on Alki. The huge stereos will drive right by marked SPD units – with no recourse. Motorcycles will do stunts right in front of SPD Officers – with no recourse. I’ve attended community meetings, petioned Captain Wilske (to no avail – he said he was “waiting on the Mayor”), and I’ve petitioned Mayor Murray. I don’t expect ‘special’ consideration on Alki. But I do expect the same consideration that any other *trouble area* gets.
  –
  A 25-minute response time is obscene. My family won’t come to Alki with their kiddos – they don’t feel safe any longer. My friends won’t come down here any longer – they don’t feel safe anymore. I don’t like living down here anymore, because it seems like it’s just become a free-for-all for hooligans of all backgrounds. Not so easy to “just move!” as so many ’empathetic’ posters have suggested recently.

• Eric June 26, 2014 (12:27 pm)

  A rumble? Stay gold Pony Boy. Stay gold.

• Alki Resident June 26, 2014 (12:48 pm)

  We moved into to the Alki neighborhood last fall. It has been remarkable how the “feel” of Alki changes at night especially when the weather gets nice. The police presence seems slim to non-existent. I had heard that in past years, after the first “incident” the SPD would park a big police bus down there and have a huge presence until things calmed down.

  It is a shame that a few rotten apples can spoil what should be a fun family experience. I know funding is tight, but I really hope the SPD takes notice and steps up its presence.

• CarrieP June 26, 2014 (1:25 pm)

  People are complaining about lack of police presence and response times, but in the past we’ve voted down any form of funding to obtain it. We want our “services”, but we don’t want to pay the few dollars extra, so our infrastructures are literally crumbling

• G June 26, 2014 (1:29 pm)

  Gina is correct, “rumbles” did take place. I remember classmates at Madison getting ready for one at the lower playfield and talking about coming with baseball bats and knives. Not on the level of violence of a gang, for sure, but if anyone thinks WS is, or has ever has been Mayberry, they are mistaken.
  This is certainly NOT to downplay anything that is going on now.

• Amrakx June 26, 2014 (1:37 pm)

  As a resident of the Alki neighborhood for over a decade I’ve noticed the deterioration in the security and character of the Alki neighborhood in the summer months, particularly during weekends and evenings. It’s a sad commentary when after dinner strolls are at the mercy of hooligans, loud abrasive cruising vehicles and motorcycles, and drunken behavior is considered common and acceptable. Not to mention those who literally and figuratively trash the neighborhood, beaches and parks, leaving their broken bottles and trash behind for neighbors and the parks department to pick up each and every day from every sidewalk, walkway and landscaped areas.
  Having relocated here from Hawaii many many years ago, I’ve noticed a blatant disrespect for the beautiful beaches and parks we seem to take for granted here. There is a disconnect and selfish blatant disregard for the beautiful nature we share here. In recent years this attitude has continued to prevail and it’s a sad comment that we as individuals have to look to law enforcement to protect what we should each take responsibility for, and respect, cherish, share, enjoy and protect, for everyone including our visiting tourists who ooh and ahh over the beauty we take for granted daily.

• Noelle June 26, 2014 (2:05 pm)

  So Sad. Alki needs some sort of citizen driven patrol like they made on Capital Hill. There simply are not enough cops to keep an eye on all the Jackholes running amuck at the beach in the summer time evenings. Nice weather = trouble on Alki.

• Lydia June 26, 2014 (2:51 pm)

  Response to W. Maybe you have personal knowledge from participating or watching. There is no justifying the behavior. Alcohol and trash talking bravery never works. Alki deserves better. And the fighting in the middle of the street didn’t all happen BEFORE 11:00 p.m. Several witnesses and residents saw the events unfolding and called 911. My cell phone call was recorded at 11:00 pm and the street fighting hadn’t started yet. The 911 operator also advised that other calls were coming in for the same incident. The police WERE aware it was happening. The fighting and slamming of people around hadn’t started but it was apparent it was escalating to a dangerous point. You did NOT have to flag down the patrol cars – they arrived and stopped right where you were fighting and also cordoned off the area with their cars to contain those trying to flee. Another patrol car took off around the corner directed by a 911 caller who had seen kids running down the alleys. The cops DID arrive around 11:25 which seemed like a long time for us who requested immediate assistance. This should not be passed off as status quo for Alki summers.

• T Rex June 26, 2014 (3:31 pm)

  Amrakx – well said and thank you.

  Your comments almost reflect where we are going as a society as well. Not just on Alki.

• buckwheat June 26, 2014 (3:37 pm)

  It is only going to get worse. The mayor, city council, DOJ, city attorney, and the King County Executive support this crap coming to Alki and Seattle. The SPD officers were probably tied down with all of the DOJ B.S. paperwork that is taking cops off the street. Pretty sad that the residents have to put up with this crap due to ineffective city leadership.

  • WSB June 26, 2014 (4:08 pm)

    Well, I wish I had an explanation by now, either debunking or confirming/explaining the response-time concerns. But there’s been no response to my inquiries, eight hours later, by either the SPD media-relations unit or local precinct. If those who say they made a call at 11 pm have a cell phone with a screen confirming that time – I don’t know how all types of phones work, but certainly my iPhone shows I called such-and-such a number at x time on x date – I’d invite you to contact us (editor@westseattleblog.com), as I continue to research this. Would be helpful to have a screen grab, and of course we would not publish your personal number. Meantime, the only automated, publicly visible dispatch evidence is the Seattle Fire 911 dispatch for “assault with weapons” at 11:27 pm.
    .
    http://www2.seattle.gov/fire/realtime911/getRecsForDatePub.asp?incDate=06%2F25%2F2014&rad1=des
    .
    Re: the call for police, it would eventually be obtainable via public disclosure, but I hope to get a response without having to go to that length. – TR

• HelperMonkey June 26, 2014 (4:21 pm)

  and this is why I only visit Alki October-April.

• Beth June 26, 2014 (4:45 pm)

  Amrakx
  AMEN!

• WTF June 26, 2014 (4:48 pm)

  W
  It begs the question: did anyone call 911?!

• Bradley June 26, 2014 (5:28 pm)

  The SPD is “de-policing” the entire city. This has been such a problem that the SPD brass even had to appoint a new commander to try and stop the practice after the Seattle Times article about misdemeanor arrests being down by 49% since the DOJ reforms. The 911 calls reported suspects at Alki who were of a certain demographic that the SPD officers are leery of contacting/apprehending. Get used to the slow response times until the DOJ mess is settled and the SPD officers are getting support from the citizens and police top brass again.

• W June 26, 2014 (6:25 pm)

  No one called the police from my group. We were just trying to get outta there and home; but when one of the punks hit our friend, that’s when things got bad. Three different groups were involved, and two different fights happening. Then we everyone was shouting “he took her phone” we chased him down 61st (where I was when I flagged the police down) and we came back out onto 60th and couldn’t find him.

• kelsey June 26, 2014 (6:48 pm)

  I live on 54th pl and saw the commotion on my way home from work. In the past week and a half I’ve also herd multiple gunshots (2) late one night on the beach. It got called in on the scanner, but after listening for another half an hour and watching the 911 feed it didn’t even look like a car got dispatched to investigate. Coming from the Flint Mi, I definitely know a gun shot when I hear one.

  • WSB June 26, 2014 (8:06 pm)

    Kelsey, if no one is shot – and I can tell you no one’s been shot in West Seattle in a while, certainly not in the past week and a half – SFD would not be dispatched (assuming you mean their feed – there is no online feed for SPD).

• Marc M June 26, 2014 (8:14 pm)

  buckwheat – damn paperwork! any other excuses?

• Cassie June 26, 2014 (8:43 pm)

  I was the woman who ‘s phone was stolen. I was walking my dog down to the Swell to grab a beer (I live just blocks away). Saw the girls fighting and started to film it. I didn’t know that there was a stabling occurring as well and happened to capture it on video. I went to turn my phone off and go inside when some punk kid came, hit me in the face, and took my phone.

  He was obviously too fast for me to catch up to him but I would like to thank the four or five guys that immediately sprinted after the jerk and tried to catch him. It’s all very unfortunate because not only have I never been assaulted or had my things stolen, but it was at a location that I call home and thought I was safe.

  Thanks to everyone who tried to help, I guess the bright side of it is that although there are some terrible kids running around fighting and causing problems for no apparent reason, but there were some very helpful Alki residents that did their best to help.
  Thanks to all of you that did you best – truly appreciated.

  • WSB June 26, 2014 (8:57 pm)

    Thank you for sharing your story, Cassie; I hope you are not too badly hurt.
    .
    Meantime, I mentioned earlier here in the comment thread that as of about 4 pm, we hadn’t received an SPD reply to our inquiries regarding the reported slow response time. We were offline for a few hours tonight and during that time, Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske did respond. I am adding to the narrative above, but because I know some will only be checking back on the comments at this point, his reply:

    “We dispatched the call pretty quickly, but between travel time and getting the officers together to go in as a team it took about 8-10 minutes to get there and exert control over the event. They wanted to go in as a team due to the number of people involved in the fight. There was one subject who was stabbed in the abdomen; we did some interviews but we do not have a suspect in custody yet.

    We did not have foot officers on scene [before the event]; they are currently working 1400 to 2200 Friday and Saturday [at Alki] as that is when we have experienced the largest crowds.”

    As reported here, he had mentioned the Friday/Saturday emphasis at the Block Watch Captains’ Network this past Tuesday.

    Meantime, thanks to the person who responded to my request for a cell-phone screen grab with time of 911 call about trouble preceding the stabbing; theirs was made at 11:04 pm. I don’t know the victim’s condition, as I don’t have his name and Harborview will only provide condition information to the media if they have a name – even that’s no guarantee, as the privacy law allows a patient (or her/his family, on their behalf) to specify that no information is to be released. – Tracy

• wetone June 27, 2014 (10:29 am)

  From my perspective growing up at Alki the 60’s to present it has gotten much worse. Yes there were a few riots in the 70’s a burnt up cop car, had to leave Alki and go up the hill because of so much tear gas covering the Alki area and things got a little crazy once in a while but that was far and few between. But the police and the under cover, narc squad as we called them then were always around either WALKING the whole beach or watching from there old vans or cars but always present during the summer months. They were in good shape and if you messed up they would chase you down and deal with you by ticket and leave area or take you to the big house. Trouble makers if smart stayed away or got dealt with it was that simple. But now that Seattle and this state have gotten so PC things are going down hill fast. Police could do their job back then and not worry about all the repercussions as they do today. You spit, hit, bite a cop you better expect the same along with a little interest back. This area has more people than ever before and less policing winning combo. How about PARKING the city has turned Alki into a tourist, sports, retail area and all the new housing with little if any parking. Has continued over the years to take parking away on the beach side pushing parking onto the side streets causing huge problems for people that live in the area with zero recourse along with the noise and garbage to deal with. Just another well thought out brain fart plan from our city that only cares about one thing $$$$$ revenue.

• Dollarsfordollars June 27, 2014 (11:53 am)

  ,,,this city is overrun with crime, we are a sanction city-open arms for all criminals. City Council, are you still hot on suppressing Seattle Police?

• Chachi June 27, 2014 (12:05 pm)

  I just sent you my screenshot of my 911 call @10:59. 5 minutes prior to the other caller. If you were watching the ruckus a lot did happen over just those 5 minutes alone.

• WS4fun June 27, 2014 (12:11 pm)

  I read with interest all the comments that have been made about this incident. I wish you had a “like” button that I could push to support some of the “on point” comments. I’m angered by the comments directed at SPD that implies it is their fault this escalated to the point it did. They were right to wait for back up to come in as a group to control a potentially more dangerous situation. And until the DOJ gets out of Seattle, we are going to have to suffer with letting the criminals get by with way too much. (That is a whole other story.)
  So don’t point your ignorant fingers at SPD. Why not point them at the kids that are there with no other purpose than to cause trouble. What about the parents of all the under 18 kids that run around causing problems? Maybe parents should be held accountable for their kids’ actions until they reach the age of 18 or are no longer living in their house. If you have kids, do you know where they are and who they’re with at night? Do you know who their friends are? Don’t tell me you can’t control your kids after a certain age. You can and you should. Kids need boundaries way longer than they will admit but they will thank you later. It’s called tough love. Being a parent means raising your kids to respect themselves and others. Too many people stop parenting as soon as a baby sitter is no longer needed. I raised 4 kids and it wasn’t easy being the “mean” parent, but they are now thankful.

• Wes C. Addle June 27, 2014 (12:17 pm)

  I know many of you are worried about Alki, but honestly I’ve never felt unsafe there and I go there at all times of the year.
  .
  Police can’t just camp at Alki 24/7 and guard it.
  .
  We all want new businesses and places to live near Alki, but that comes with a cost. That cost is more visitors from outside the neighborhood.
  .
  I’m most concerned with the uptick in motorcycle traffic. I’m seeing a lot of people “stuntin” and racing up and down the WS streets. Especially up in Admiral where I live.

• wsres June 27, 2014 (2:46 pm)

  This is perfect timing for our new police chief, O’Toole to oversee and take note of a Seattle hot spot.

• Lydia June 27, 2014 (3:55 pm)

  Not being personally connected to the SPD, I have no knowledge of the time it takes to coordinate a plan for 4 or 5 officers in response to our 911 calls. So any concerns about response time I will leave with SPD to review. They arrived as a group and quickly blocked off streets. I didn’t hear sirens and their flashers only came on when they were right at the scene. I could see the groups being separated quickly and a sense of control over chaos was apparent. Maybe SPD could use this event as their “Alki Plan” to have in their back pocket for the summer. It works. Response time might amaze us all. Thanks to the SPD.

• Dichotomies R Us June 27, 2014 (4:36 pm)

  I do love the volume of comments suggesting that our police force must be either 1) crippled by oversight, or 2) brutally racist. If only the DOJ would get their “justice” out of our way, that surely would have prevented this brawl!

• Alki res June 27, 2014 (6:19 pm)

  Header SHOULD say “23 yr old man punches teenage girl in the face and hero stabs offender”

• datamuse June 27, 2014 (7:10 pm)

  I’m slightly boggled at the idea that what we have now is worse than a burning police car and tear gas.

• Where's my tin foil hat? June 27, 2014 (7:29 pm)

  It’s always fascinating to read the comments on any WSB crime story, including this one. Most of them are thoughtful, measured, and surprisingly well written. But there’s also what seems like a growing minority of semi-hysterical comments about the terrible increase in crime, and that the Barbarians are at the gate, and that the end of civilization as we know it is near. And every story like this just confirms what they already know, and makes them just that much angrier and more frustrated. Some even talk about how much they’d enjoy hurting some of the criminals. But since they can’t, they want the police to serve as their surrogate avengers, and they certainly don’t need some snooty sissy from the Federal Government or City Council telling them what to do, which makes them even more frustrated and angry just to think about.

  The problem is, as this blog has reported in the past, crime, violent crime in particular, has been trending downward for decades and that we’ve probably never been safer, particularly in a upscale city like Seattle. What’s changed is that in the past we simply didn’t hear about most crimes, and something like this may have gone completely unreported and only known by the immediate people who were disturbed or effected by it. And Grumpy Old Guy #25 would have been happily watching Mr. Ed instead of making nutty comments on blogs and planning for Armageddon.

• ScubaFrog June 28, 2014 (2:26 am)

  Tin foil you were probably around in the ’50’s/’60’s/’70s – were there as many stabbings/shootings back then? I’m genuinely curious, so please try to be honest to the best of your ability if you answer. I remember the shootings from the ’90s to the present. Growing up in the ’80s was great though, I don’t recall ever hearing about shootings in the large city I grew up in.
  –
  From my observation, while crime may be down – the crimes committed today are remarkably more heinous (think mass shootings/nightly gang shootings/stabbings). I think that escapes you (datamuse too), and that’s unfortunate.

• C June 28, 2014 (9:36 am)

  Stabbings are as old as people
  In The 40-70s people stabbed people.
  Like switch blades ring a bell?
  The 80-90s gang warfare far exceeds anything we see from these wanna be kids.
  Ice cube came to town in 93-4. He was even shot at causing chaos in downtown Seattle.
  Stabbing have gone up do to the cheap and availability of tactical knives from China since the us opened trade up over the past 10 years.

  Crime is not down and is rampant this is a result of excessive populations, overcrowding and lack of education.
  Find a better way to live through serving others as you would yourself. I think someone said this at onetime when people were far more brutal towards other humans than now.

• WSince86 June 28, 2014 (12:45 pm)

  Couldn’t agree more WS4fun!!! Some parents need to stop trying to be their kids buddies and actually ‘parent’!!!

• Bradley June 28, 2014 (5:48 pm)

  We have to keep this whole violent crime thing in the proper context and see how far we’ve come. I’ve lived in West Seattle for 23 years and back in 91′, High Point was worse than Yesler Terrace and drugs were sold openly (in the middle of the street) at 35th SW and Morgan. We lived just blocks south of High Point on 34th and you could hear gun shots nightly. 4 people were murdered there one summer in the mid-90’s. A cab driver was shot in the head and died a few hundred feet from our house one night. Back then a woman and man were shot in the head on a bench on Beach Drive one night while watching the sunset. A young man on a gang initiation asked them for the time and then shot them, killing the woman. The murderer was arrested in High Point after bragging about the crime. White Center was so bad we used to avoid driving through it. Delridge was ten times worse than it is now. REAL gangs used to hang out at Westwood Village. There was no Barnes and Noble, no Staples, no fancy bath store, and Target was smaller and run-down. There were lots of store spaces for lease. There was also no SW police station and where Home Depot is there was a Food Giant and scrubby Kmart store that you risked your life if you shopped there at night. Things have vastly improved in West Seattle in the past 20 years and we have to remember how far we’ve climbed out of the ghetto we were fast becoming back then.

• datamuse June 29, 2014 (11:36 am)

  “Nightly” gang shootings?
  .
  Really?
  .
  Please do not assume that just because I haven’t reached the same conclusions you have, Scubafrog, that I’m somehow deluded or missing something. From where I’m sitting, your statement is hyperbolic, and I don’t see what good that does anyone. But if you want to insist that the sky is falling rather than try to do something about problems that actually exist, feel free. Just leave me out of it. (Oh, and in the 80s I was growing up in Washington, DC. You know, the homicide capital of the country back then.)
  .
  Mass shootings are not on the rise, by the way. In fact there’s no real overall discernible trend over the past 35 years. It’s almost as if they’re…random.

Sorry, comment time is over.