Reader reports: Car vandalized; black backpack found

| Crime | West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Two reader reports to share – first, from West Seattle Crime Watch, car vandalism:

Vera sent the photo and reports:

Upon leaving Westwood village (Friday night) … this is what I found my car to look like. Someone walked up over the hood onto my roof, footprints visible in the frost. Apparently no one saw this happen??? I was visiting Barnes & Noble on January 1 from eight until 10 PM. I was parked right outside of Barnes & Noble and someone walks up over top of my car and crashed my windshield; I’m wondering if they have any video footage or cameras outside of Barnes & Noble . I parked a mere 12 ft from the entrance.

We suggested checking with the store, for starters – if you have any other ideas, please comment.

Next – a backpack found in the 3400 block of Walnut SW at 7 am today. More often than not, these things turn out to have been stolen from someone somewhere, but as the finder observes, this might also have fallen off a vehicle:

My wife went for a walk early this morning and found a nice black backpack in the middle of our street containing snowboarding items (boots, goggles etc.). The pack was open – in the next block North of us she found a snowboard helmet and clothing. It appears to belong to boy, and must have fallen off the roof of a car…they may be having a very bad day at the slopes :( … If anyone knows who this belongs to, they can contact Brian at 303.396.9273. There is a name on the backpack and other identifying characteristics that we will ask to verify ownership.

Eric January 2, 2016 (1:51 pm)

Unfreakinbelievable!! What POS to do that!! Somebody saw it. They need to setup step up and say something!!

sophista-tiki January 2, 2016 (2:31 pm)

UGH for the millionth time, TRANSIT HUB OF DOOM!

Smokeycretin9 January 2, 2016 (2:42 pm)

Let’s move the transit hub near the Mayor’s house and see how he likes it.

Ray January 2, 2016 (2:50 pm)

And Westwood Village continues its slow decline into obsolescence.

That transit hub will be the death of that center, among other things.

Craig January 2, 2016 (3:25 pm)

Sorry to hear about this. What’s going to happen is that small events like this are going to be what people think of when they think of Westwood Village and the stores there will attract fewer and fewer shoppers – particularly of the variety that have substantive discretionary income to spend – for fear of this happening to them (or being panhandled, etc) and the quality and selection of stores will slowly decline, then it’ll be an empty shopping center that we talk about as a “blight on the community and what we should do with it.” We’re about half way there right now. Pretty much the literal embodyment of the broken window theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory

Fear Not January 2, 2016 (6:28 pm)

It’s so interesting that people always take an opportunity to bash Westwood Village at the reporting of any incident.
I work at Westwood 6 days a week on average and my experience is that of a thriving retail center with employees who say hello to eachother & help customers out to cars; customers who are “regulars” who praise and patronize the businesses of this vibrant town center. Could it be better? Sure! But it’s what is here, folks, and predicting (and contributing to) its decline could indeed result in an eyesore of an empty mall. And what do you think that will do to your property values?? Please don’t be afraid of Westwood Village, seriously??

me January 2, 2016 (8:43 pm)

we continue on our slow spiral into Mad Max land…

Selene January 3, 2016 (4:23 am)

Check with Target. Depending on where you are parked, they can look up the video camera

Westwood Neighbor January 3, 2016 (11:09 pm)

@Fearnot…well said. Thank you

WestSideNative January 5, 2016 (12:33 am)

WestWood will always be WestWood with a steady flow of shoppers for the simple fact that no matter what changes are made around it i.e. rapid ride newbies that aren’t originally from the West.WestWood has been a staple shopping center since it went from a dairy farm to mudflats to a stripmall.Hey on a positive note maybe all this crime serves a good purpose for all of the community who have always been here and find now that it’s a little to crowded down there who needs negative nay sayers that just pollute our hometown to its current over populated stuck up newcomers.Oh the old West was awesome before y’all came opiniating stereotyping and changing our old school ways to your uptown hi saditty yuppieville.I don’t support bottom feeders wether they are thieving or stereotyping.

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