West Seattle Crime Watch: Gunfire near Lincoln Park; car prowls in Gatewood, Junction

Gunfire and car prowls are West Seattle’s two biggest crime problems right now, police told the WS Block Watch Captains Network last night. And that’s what’s in our Crime Watch roundup this afternoon:

GUNFIRE NEAR LINCOLN PARK: A resident near the bottom of the Thistle stairway just east of Lincoln Park asked us this morning about gunshots overnight. On Tweets by Beat (which you can review any time on our Crime Watch page), the classification was “person with a gun.” We obtained the police-report narrative, which says officers checked out the reported gunfire after multiple 911 calls around quarter past 2, and found eight shell casings in the intersection of 46th SW/SW Thistle [map] – which is at the bottom of the aforementioned stairway. One caller heard a vehicle “speeding away northbound”; another saw “two males running through (a) backyard,” but there were no signs of property damage, and no gunshot victim(s) turned up anywhere. The police report says, “The shell casings were all marked GFL (Giulio Fiocchi) 9mm Luger.”

CAR PROWL NEAR GATEWOOD ELEMENTARY: From Sarah:

Our car, the one my 17-year-old son drives (an old 2000 Volvo station wagon) was broken into last night and two valuable items stolen. They smashed the rear passenger side cargo window.

The items stolen were very special to him. A Gibson Les Paul guitar with a purple paisley strap, and a Fender Twin Reverb Amp (’68 Custom). I’ve attached stock images of the items.

He’s learned a painful and expensive lesson: never leave valuables in the car!

And just as we were about to publish this report with the two items above, this came in:

JUNCTION CAR BREAK-INS: From Stacy:

Just an FYI – When I arrived at LA Fitness yesterday around 5:45 pm, there was a cop investigating the parking lot as at least three car windows were smashed and broken into. He was walking around telling everyone who parked what had just happened but since so many people work out there at different times- wanted to share with you guys to hopefully share with everyone. Remember if there is nothing in your car to steal, they won’t break in (coming from someone who had her car broken into no less than 3 times on the East Coast).

Advice from police modifies that somewhat – make sure it doesn’t even LOOK like something might be in the car (we’ve heard of car prowlers going through grocery bags that might have contained something).

8 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Gunfire near Lincoln Park; car prowls in Gatewood, Junction"

  • Seattlite May 25, 2016 (3:00 pm)

    Everyone needs to understand that you can never ever leave anything in your cars anymore.  At Northgate and Westwood Village I’ve witnessed men blatantly looking into car windows, not caring who sees them doing it.  As for the gunfire, what will take for law enforcement to control gangs — not only in Seattle but the entire USA?

    • Wes C. Addle May 25, 2016 (3:27 pm)

      Not all shootings are gang related.  Can’t blame one group for the ills of many.  There is no real solution IMO.  Guns are here, crime is here.  The community just has to be smart and diligent in their reporting and prevention.

  • Carole May 25, 2016 (4:14 pm)

    I’ve begun leaving a note on my dash….”nothing of value in this car.”

  • Steve May 25, 2016 (6:10 pm)

    When will the mayor take some action?

    • Rick May 26, 2016 (2:47 am)

      Like million dollar parties,rainbow crosswalks,doubling up and bailing out failed bike programs and many,many other things?  That’s action,right?

  • East Coast Cynic May 25, 2016 (8:58 pm)

    Car Alarm and no valuables on display—Makes a huge difference.

    Video surveillance at the LA Fitness?

  • Troy May 26, 2016 (6:06 am)

    The mayor is too busy trying to save everybody but the tax payers…he won’t do anything towards making us safer.

  • Tony C. May 27, 2016 (10:00 pm)

    If you hear gunfire PLEASE do not stand up, run to the window, to see where you think the shots are coming from. If you think you hear gunfire – DROP TO THE FLOOR IMMEDIATELY.  The A$$H$$E firing the gun is just that.  One cannot control the stupid behavior of an irresponsible person. Don’t become a dead hero. You are only in control of protecting yourself.  Based on my personal experience in trying to coordinate a community effort to improve the quality of life where I live in West Seattle, meeting with the City Councilmember of our district, regarding these efforts, the reality is that city government is operating on a disconnect with citizens realistic needs. I think it is safe to say that this Seattle Mayor is yet another one-timer.

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