WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Cars vandalized; gunfire confirmed; truck prowled

Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

CARS VANDALIZED: Several readers tipped us this morning (thank you) about half a dozen or so cars vandalized near 36th SW and SW Graham, with red spray paint and a slashed P, perhaps mimicking the “no parking” symbol. Chris noticed it at 7 am and called police, who said they would investigate.

That photo is from J. Boyd, who had called police later in the morning, but was told individual car owners would have to report it. J. wondered if it were some sort of parking rage, reporting that a vehicle down the street appeared to have been “booted.” (Note – we don’t usually show tagging vandalism, but this doesn’t appear to be a tag – unless you’ve seen it elsewhere?)

P.S. We now have a police-report # for this, in case you have a tip – 17-358012.

SOUTH DELRIDGE GUNFIRE: Thanks to Kim for the tip on this – while some reports of possible gunfire turn out to be fireworks, this one in South Delridge on Sunday night was verified. We requested and obtained the report narrative from SPD this morning. It says people called 911 around 7:20 pm Sunday, reporting hearing shots around 20th SW and SW Barton; a pizza delivery person told police he had seen someone standing at the intersection and firing a gun. It was caught on a nearby building’s security cameras, according to the police report:

The video shows the suspect exiting a vehicle which is parked facing .northbound, on the northeast corner of the intersection. The suspect exits the vehicle, and fíred in the direction of the vehicle, as the vehicle drove northbound on 20 AV SVü. The vehicle then continued onto Delridge WY SW. The second video shows the suspect running westbound when he drops an item, the suspect stops to retrieve the item, and continues running westbound. … The vehicle was described as a possible 2010 dark blue Chevrolet Malibu. The vehicle drove northbound on 20 AV SW and then northbound on Delridge.

The report says police found three 9mm shell casings and a black plastic cell-phone case that might have been dropped by the suspect. No injuries or property damage were reported (or found).

CAR BREAK-IN: Car prowlers are active again – a resident of Holly Court SW said that their secluded private driveway was no haven; someone broke into their truck Sunday night and stole a “laptop and bag with business checks and equipment.” It’s their third vehicle break-in in the city this year.

12 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Cars vandalized; gunfire confirmed; truck prowled"

  • ACG September 26, 2017 (12:26 pm)

    Wow, that vandalism is so lame. Sorry to all that were affected. What a crummy thing to have to deal with. 

  • clinker September 26, 2017 (12:32 pm)

    Try to use acetone (sparingly!) and a paper towel on that red spray paint. We had the same thing happen, and it wiped right off because it was fresh. 

  • Sarah September 26, 2017 (3:41 pm)

    That really sucks. I live a little over a block away and did notice a police SUV pulled over on that block as I left for work around 7:45 this morning. This block (Graham between 35th and 36th) has been very difficult to navigate the last few months, as Enterprise has been using it as overflow parking for their rentals. I know it was aggravating some neighbors, but none to the point of vandalism, as far as I know.

    Actually, do we know whether cars were targeted randomly, or if they were primarily/all Enterprise rental cars?

  • cil September 26, 2017 (4:04 pm)

    Try toothpaste and water. That helped a friend many years ago remove spray paint from her car. Sorry this happened. 

  • Hoku September 26, 2017 (7:01 pm)

    Enterprise shouldn’t be using any public streets for “overflow parking for their rentals” – this can be reported to the SDCI Complaint Line 206-615-0808.

    • WSB September 26, 2017 (7:06 pm)

      Thank you. I should also note that we have no information on whether the vandalized vehicles were privately or commercially owned. None of the people who reported it to us were victims – just saw it happening, took the time to call police and to let us know (thank you!) so that we could report on it.

    • Sarah September 26, 2017 (7:49 pm)

      Interesting… I was told (secondhand from a neighbor) that the city wouldn’t do anything about the cars because they were moved more frequently than the 72-hour restriction. The rental cars are often parked illegally anyway (within a foot of the curb cut). Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if someone was just finally so fed up that they targeted the rental cars. 

  • Mike September 26, 2017 (9:58 pm)

    Report it to SPD and get the # of the report, put in insurance claims and let insurance know the police report #’s for each claim.  That way when the individual(s) who did this are caught, they can deal with multi billion dollar insurance companies with a fleet of lawyers breathing down their necks to get repaid (aka… ruin their life).

  • faceless September 27, 2017 (9:05 am)

    you can also use lighter fluid- it will take the paint right off just put it on a soft cloth and wipe.

  • Brian September 27, 2017 (9:24 am)

    If these were rental vehicles owned be a private company and used for commercial rental services that were using public parking spaces as part of their regular profit-driven operations, I have a tiny violin playing for them right now.
    .
    If they’re the cars of residents just trying to get by, that’s super sad and frustrating.    

  • Mark September 27, 2017 (11:42 am)

    Very frustrating.  People who commit these crimes need to be caught and held accountable and made to pay restitution.

    The system is broken, as a victim of an assault several months ago the prosecutor still has not charged the perpetrator!

  • Sillygoose September 29, 2017 (10:10 am)

    Another reason we should all push for garages in all of this new construction.  A car is stolen every 10 minutes in Seattle, get your cars off of the street.

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