West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Teen arrested, under investigation in overnight gunfire

(Reader photo: Car with window damage, near scene of one of last night’s gunfire incidents)
Seattle Police have just announced an arrest following last night’s string of shootings (here’s our original story). This was just posted to SPD Blotter:

A 16-year-old boy arrested this morning for pulling a gun on his family in West Seattle is also under investigation for a series of late-night drive-bys in the neighborhood.

Seattle police first received reports of gunfire around 8 pm Wednesday in the 5400 block of Delridge Way SW. Officer did not find any damage, injuries or shell casings at the scene..

Later, around 10:45 PM, police again received numerous reports of shooting, this time near 17th Ave SW and Delridge Way SW, where officers found several shell casings. Witnesses told officers a red four-door car had fled the scene, and police began searching the neighborhood for the vehicle.

As police continued their search for the gunman and red vehicle throughout the night, officers received a third report of a shooting around 11:30 PM at 23 Ave SW and SW Findlay St. Again, police found shell casings and were told a red car had sped away from the scene.

Half an hour later, at midnight, police received another report that the a red four-door car had pulled alongside another vehicle at Olson Pl SW and 4 Ave SW and fired two shots striking, the other car twice. No one was injured.

Gang Unit detectives joined patrol officers in the investigation and search for the suspect in the red car.

Finally, at 2 AM, police received a report of a domestic disturbance involving a firearm at a home in the 7700 block of 12th Avenue SW.

Officers arrived and learned a 16-year-old boy had pulled a gun on his family members. The teen reportedly pointed the gun at one victim’s head and pulled the trigger. The gun was not loaded at the time.

Police arrested the teen and seized the gun, which matched the caliber of shell casings recovered Wednesday night at several of the West Seattle shooting scenes. Officers also impounded a red Honda civic found parked near the teen’s home.

Police booked the 16-year-old into the King County Youth Service Center for investigation of domestic violence harassment. Detectives are still investigating the teen in connection with the four shootings. Police have not received any reports of injuries in any of the incidents.

18 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Teen arrested, under investigation in overnight gunfire"

  • Quiz April 9, 2015 (11:45 am)

    Bravo SPD.

  • Melissa April 9, 2015 (11:55 am)

    Heartbreaking. On so many levels.

  • m April 9, 2015 (11:56 am)

    Hope they charge him with attempted murder.

  • me April 9, 2015 (12:00 pm)

    that is a nightmare. my hope is that they charge him as an adult and keep him off the street as long as possible. the notion that our system can actually help him in some special way is a fantasy.

  • Oakley34 April 9, 2015 (12:35 pm)

    Hope the question of how this kid got the gun is answered…this could have been a LOT worse. I grew up in a home with two parents with licenses for concealed carry, and their guns were ALWAYS locked away when not in use. I am for stricter gun control, and more stringent accountability for those who allow their weapon to be accessed by anyone other than the licensee.

  • Eric1 April 9, 2015 (12:49 pm)

    Excellent! A domestic violence conviction will keep him from having access to firearms in the future. LOL… Criminals don’t follow the law: he is 16, has no permit, and negligently discharged the firearm. Is domestic violence the best they could come up with?
    .
    Throw the book at him as an adult. The scary part is that, in theory, he should be attending school. We don’t need people like him next to normal students. How many times has that gun been to school? Please take him out of society.

  • Born on Alki 59 April 9, 2015 (12:57 pm)

    How sad. Unfortunately weapons are far to easy for bad people to obtain, and are a prime target of home break in’s. Keep them locked up tight please.

  • Barton April 9, 2015 (1:14 pm)

    Any info on the caliber? I heard the ~4-5 shots or so at 10:45PM and can remember the sound distinctly. I’d just like to know for future reference. It didn’t have the “pop” of a 9mm nor the boom of a .45, but I am not an expert on guns or acoustics.

  • EroMariner April 9, 2015 (1:30 pm)

    I really hope that I’m wrong, but this may be a precursor of things to come this summer. Bummer. More SPD….Please !!!

  • C. April 9, 2015 (1:54 pm)

    Heard 1 pop in Highland Park last night around 8, my dog came running into the house, I heard another pop and I hit the floor at my open doorway hoping there weren’t going to be more. My place is on a slope above the street so I was worried about bullets if they were shooting in the air. It was hard to tell if it was a gun or fireworks, but it kind of sounded like a gun. A red car went flying up Cambridge St. Heard sirens about 2 minutes later. Unnerving.
    I didn’t hear any of the 11pm shooting, but I did hear the helicopter and wondered if they were looking for someone. So glad there has been an arrest. This teen is sure headed down the wrong path. I hope he learns from this.

  • alki resident April 9, 2015 (3:20 pm)

    Will we be able to find out this kids name? I really think I know who this is but not positive .

    • WSB April 9, 2015 (3:26 pm)

      Not unless he is charged as an adult. My usual way of tracking cases is by checking the jail register but the juvenile-justice center list is not public.

  • Raymond April 9, 2015 (4:30 pm)

    Pointing a gun at someone’s head and pulling the trigger… Sounds to me like attempted murder, whether you are an adult or a juvenile.

  • Bradley April 9, 2015 (5:08 pm)

    @Oakley34: you’re already excusing the behavior of this violent criminal on the HYPOTHETICAL assumption that he got the gun from someone who carelessly left it lying around? AND calling for stricter gun control in a knee-jerk reaction? We have no idea how he got this gun. It could have been stolen from a store or from someone’s gun safe that was torn open with a pry bar.

  • phil dirt April 10, 2015 (4:53 am)

    oakley34, How about more criminal control, not gun control? This kid’s wrist will be slapped and then he’ll be released. We’ll most likely be hearing from him again and again.

  • Squeak April 10, 2015 (8:58 am)

    it’s a Democrat state. The kids going to get off, because it’s not his fault it’s societies fault we made him that way. Look at Chicago Illinois the toughest gun laws in the country and the most gun crimes. The solution is simple just enforce the laws. Put him away for as long as you can judge not the minimum.

  • Eric April 10, 2015 (3:27 pm)

    I say more gun control and criminal control.And before I get labeled the typical Seattle liberal this or that; I own a gun and have a weapon’s concealed license.

    @ Squeak, correlation does not equate to causation.

  • darren_eugene April 12, 2015 (11:06 pm)

    I say young teenagers
    Do mistakes like anyone else
    He deserves another chance
    Free you homie
    Shout out to your family an you
    Remember ppl at the end of the day
    No one got hurt

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