UPDATE: About the police search that began north of The Junction

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

12:35 PM: If you’re wondering what police are doing north of The Junction – they tell us they are looking for a suspect who ran as they were trying to serve him with a warrant after he didn’t show up for a court date. The search is happening near Holy Rosary and Seattle Lutheran and the schools are reported to have been notified. We don’t have the suspect’s name but police did give us a description – 6-feet tall, black, male, dreadlocks, red shirt an dark shorts. The searchers include a K-9 team.

(Added: Photo texted by Mirsepasy Law Offices during search, from 3400 block California)

1:42 PM: We have been out chasing after this. Yes, the search continued north, to the WSHS area.

1:58 PM: Police confirm that the person they were seeking is in custody. They say schools have been notified.

2:35 PM: We’re told police started trying to serve this warrant last night, then got word of the suspect’s presence today and tried again – that’s what started it all. We’re told the arrest was made in/near the 4100 block of SW Manning.

5:54 PM: A bit of additional information from Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Steve Strand: The suspect “is suspected of recent local robber(ies). He is a juvenile.”

Wsgal January 18, 2019 (12:49 pm)

Thanks for the update!

DG January 18, 2019 (12:50 pm)

Thank you SO much for the promptness of this update. I am a spouse of a Seattle Lutheran teacher. I did not know why they were in lockdown and this was such helpful information to know.

G January 18, 2019 (12:53 pm)

They are on Genesee Hill now !

Jenny January 18, 2019 (12:54 pm)

Seeing police cars that are intermittently turning on their sirens in our neighborhood a few blocks west of the Junction.

Adrianne January 18, 2019 (12:56 pm)

appear to be down by 47th and Oregon/Alaska way

WS REZ January 18, 2019 (12:56 pm)

Just saw about 6 Police cars turn off Andover (heading east) onto California. Assuming this is for the same response!

G January 18, 2019 (12:57 pm)

Genesee Hill school is presently shelter-in-place.

Mike January 19, 2019 (6:50 am)

If anyone is like me and wondering “why didn’t I get a notification?”, check your “Promotions” folder in Gmail. Yes, the fine folks at SPS use services and key words that trigger promotional marketing mail for vital notifications. Well done SPS, well done! *eye roll*

brandon54xx January 18, 2019 (12:58 pm)

A lot of police cars buzzing the streets around Madison MS.

Jen January 18, 2019 (1:00 pm)

They are by WSHS now!

KS January 18, 2019 (1:01 pm)

Lafayette Elementary just announced a lock down. Is this part of the same search? (Working from home today, and I can hear the Lafayette announcements from my house.)

One Pissed Parent January 18, 2019 (2:18 pm)

The sickening part is that they didn’t even let us parents know they were in lockdown. I literally found out because of your post about hearing it over the speakers. So thank you sincerely for posting. Otherwise I would’ve had no idea. Other parents I spoke with today are just as outraged. They need a better system in place of letting us parents know of emergencies. They send us 50 different notifications via email, text and voice mails about teacher work days and days the students have off, but not one damn thing about a safety concern. Perfect. WTF.Thanks again.
- C January 18, 2019 (4:35 pm)
  
  Madison MS had a robo-call from the principal when they went into shelter in place. I’m not surprised Lafayette is still disappointing parents. That was a disappointing 6 years there with a few bright spots (like and Selena!).
  - FJ January 18, 2019 (6:44 pm)
    
    It’s District policy that the schools don’t notify the families when a school is in lockdown. Please don’t blame it on Lafayette or individual schools.

Jeff January 18, 2019 (1:01 pm)

Lots of police activity now by West Seattle High School.

Marci January 18, 2019 (1:02 pm)

Just saw four police cars racing up the hill on Admiral east from California. Same situation?

Jim January 18, 2019 (1:02 pm)

Police converging on alley behind former PCC.Subject poked his head out passageway between buildings as I walked by. Police saw him.

just wondering January 18, 2019 (1:04 pm)

We are near Charlestown hill and police cars are driving slowly through, occasionally turning their sirens on briefly.

David January 18, 2019 (1:05 pm)

Just had 3 officers with K9 and automatic rifles walking North past our house on 44th.

WW Resident January 18, 2019 (4:08 pm)

To clarify,Those are not automatic weapons. They’re red dot semi automatic precision rifles

Jennifer January 18, 2019 (1:05 pm)

They are all around WSHS right now. Lots of police, at least 7 cars.

prayforrain January 18, 2019 (1:06 pm)

The guy was hiding in the parking lot next to Freshy’s, and I saw him run toward the WS High soccer field and then between the field and the school. He was ducking and sprinting. Didn’t look all that worried. There are tons of cops all around here still. Must have been serious. (BTW I did call 911 to let them know)

Jack January 18, 2019 (1:07 pm)

just heard from my son, West Seattle High is in lock down too.

Matt January 18, 2019 (1:09 pm)

Any word on this? Saw him run down 47th the turn up lander towards California. This was 30 minutes ago. We called 911

D Brown January 18, 2019 (1:10 pm)

My daughter tells me WSHS in lockdown right now.

shauna January 18, 2019 (1:10 pm)

West Seattle High is in a lockdown. Is this the reason?

shauna January 18, 2019 (1:11 pm)

WSH just changed from a lockdown to shelter in place.

MikeRussellFoto January 18, 2019 (1:12 pm)

Appears to have moved all the way up to the Admiral District, based on the police cars zipping up and down Admiral, near California, and the side streets around here.

A mom January 18, 2019 (1:12 pm)

Is this why WSHS is on lockdown?

Matt January 18, 2019 (1:12 pm)

Any update on this?

WSHS mom January 18, 2019 (1:17 pm)

Is this potentially why WSHS is in a shelter in place at the moment?

Winn January 18, 2019 (1:19 pm)

Just watched about 6 police cruisers converge on Hinds & Walnut from various directions, then they sat there with lights on for a bit. Not sure if it’s related.

Eric January 18, 2019 (1:19 pm)

a lot of activity on Walnut and Hinds now

Rob B January 18, 2019 (1:23 pm)

Police were all over the admiral area at about 1:05 PM. There’s probably about nine cars screaming down California, Lander, Walnut, and Stevens seeming to be in hot pursuit of the suspect. I think they may have shut down West Seattle high school and Lafayette elementary school but that may just be a rumor on the street. After about 10 minutes in this area the police seemed to vacate and head back to south towards the junction. Will be curious what else there is to the story considering the amount of police presence in the area and the sense of urgency

Eileen January 18, 2019 (1:25 pm)

Don’t know if it’s related but my daughter at WSHS texted they are shelter in place.

rpo January 18, 2019 (1:26 pm)

Lafayette is on lock down too.

WSHS mom January 18, 2019 (1:26 pm)

Is this potentially the reason for the shelter in place at West Seattle HS and Madison as well?

Parent January 18, 2019 (1:29 pm)

West Seattle High School on Shelter in place. Is this why?

Adam January 18, 2019 (1:31 pm)

Are there any updates on this? In my neighborhood and wondering if we need to still be aware. Thanks.

Anonymous January 18, 2019 (1:32 pm)

I’m at Madison Middle School and we are in Shelter in place. Is that because of this?

Taylor January 18, 2019 (1:35 pm)

I’m in shelter in place at Madison right now. They just now lifted the shelter in place as I’m writing this.

supernova72@yahoo.com January 18, 2019 (1:37 pm)

Apprehended now. I live in the 3600 Block of 42nd Ave SW. He was caught 10 mins ago. My neighbors saw him running between houses on 42nd (Manning area). Thanks Seattle PD!!

Isabel January 18, 2019 (1:40 pm)

WSHS is no longer in shelter in place

B January 18, 2019 (1:40 pm)

WSHS is released from shelter in place

supernova72 January 18, 2019 (1:41 pm)

Not sure my last message worked. He’s been caught. 3600 block of 42nd Ave SW. Thanks SPD!!

MB January 18, 2019 (1:43 pm)

I have seen all the posts asking in this why Lafayette and WSHS are on lock down/shelter in place. I am almost 100% certain this is the same reason why. He ran up 47th and right down Lander by Lafayette about 30 minutes ago. My husband called 911.

brandon54xxBb January 18, 2019 (1:44 pm)

Shelter in place , yes. Looks like search is on 40/41st and Hinds.

Luke January 18, 2019 (1:48 pm)

Yes, this is why all the schools are either in lockdown or in shelter in place.

Jen January 18, 2019 (1:51 pm)

shelter in place lifted at Madison Middle School

WSMom January 18, 2019 (1:54 pm)

Just got a voicemail from SPS that at 1:33 the shelter in place has been lifted at Madison MS. Have thought that all the voicemails from the middle school has been very thorough communication and so grateful for this.And of course – the WSBlog is the place to go for info!

Conjunction Junction January 18, 2019 (3:23 pm)

Agreed! Madison did an excellent job of keeping us informed in real time!

Sue January 18, 2019 (1:54 pm)

My son texted me that they let him back into WSHS, so the incident must be resolved?

Ann January 18, 2019 (1:57 pm)

Robo message from WSHS principal at 1:55. Shelter in place has been released.

WSHSMom January 18, 2019 (1:57 pm)

Shelter in place has been lifted at WSHS. Kudos to Principal Vance for getting the message out to parents quickly!

WS Mom January 18, 2019 (1:58 pm)

My niece says the guy there are looking for was a freshman at WSHS. He was at a residence when they tried to serve him according to the post. Not sure if this is true. But yes, all schools in the area are shelter in place.

WS Mom January 18, 2019 (2:00 pm)

Shelter in place lifted at WSHS

WSB January 18, 2019 (2:03 pm)

I just finally got confirmation of the arrest.
- Linda January 18, 2019 (2:10 pm)
  
  Thank you for the update!!

Steph B January 18, 2019 (2:05 pm)

Thank you soooo much for posting this immediately. I was able to find the information as soon as my 10th grader texted me the school was in lockdown. Sooo helpful.

Christine January 18, 2019 (2:13 pm)

I live on Walnut between Hinds and Hanford – just south of West Seattle High School. One robbery suspect was apprehended outside of my neighbor’s house across the street (on the corner of Walnut and Hinds). The police chased the second guy from my neighbor’s back yard and caught him after an energetic run. There were about 8 police and a search dog chasing him. The remaining officer told me that both are in custody. I am grateful for the police. Deter the thieves by keeping your house locked.

WSHS Mom January 18, 2019 (2:24 pm)

Kudos to Principal Vance for getting a robocall out to parents as quickly as he did. MUCH improvement over years past.

JScottphotographer January 18, 2019 (2:45 pm)

Not one single text, email or phone call from Lafayette to let us know about the lockdown. We literally found out about it on here. Completely outraged! I emailed the school and they sent me something back about how their district doesn’t send out alerts for such events and that they’d forward the info to their higher-ups, yet I’ve been reading where WSHS sent out alerts.Sickening.

Madison Mom January 18, 2019 (3:34 pm)

Madison sent robocalls via voicemail, text, and email, both when shelter in place was initiated and when shelter in place was terminated. It isn’t accurate to say that the district doesn’t send out alerts for incidents like this. Just my .02.

RS January 18, 2019 (2:59 pm)

I read on WSB the suspect was in custody at 1:58, but didn’t receive an email until 2:12 from Genesee Hill Elementary informing us that there had been a shelter-in-place. In reading earlier comments, it appears some parents actually received a robocall or text notification from other schools in the area.

Michelle R-R January 18, 2019 (3:12 pm)

Yes thank you so much. The kids hiding under the desks (including my son) were checking here for information. What a world. Glad everyone is safe.

Alki resident January 18, 2019 (3:14 pm)

Aaaand you’ve been served.

prayforrain January 18, 2019 (3:25 pm)

That was a LOT of cops to apprehend a teenager who, from what I could tell, was not armed. He was just wearing a t-shirt and some thin athletic shorts. Any word on what the original court appearance was for?

Jack January 18, 2019 (8:03 pm)

That’s exactly what I was thinking!
Pete January 19, 2019 (6:15 am)

And you can tell how? Did you do a pat down of the suspect yourself, or years of service in law enforcement, or are you are just guessing?

N January 18, 2019 (3:37 pm)

Parent of Lafayette kids here – Admittedly I may not know the full story, but not disappointed in what was probably a tough situation. Received a text from our teacher at 1:40pm that all was clear. Followed by a email from the principal at 2:15pm, then a call from the principal and a School Messenger email notice of the voicemail as well.

Karen January 18, 2019 (3:44 pm)

First, thank you WSB and SPD.Second, I see some propke are irritated with the lack of communication. May I respond? I’m a parent of a wshs student so I understand the irritation that comes from just NOT knowing! However, I’m also a teacher that has had to put my preschool on lock down. This is how it goes:Realize there’s a problem and asses the danger.Determine what steps to take: lock down, shelter in place, wait and see or nothing.Put the plan in place. Notify the adults to follow the plan. Get the students to the pre determined safe spot.Just a note, this all has to be decided and implemented increadably quickly!Now, Account for all the students and adults, track down the ones in the wrong place. And help the ones that are anxious or uoset.At the same time you are doing ALL this you are monitoring the situation to determine what you need to do next.Sure, it would be great to have more information from the school but realistically, notifying us, the parents, is nowhere near the most important thing they need to do.

Jeb January 18, 2019 (4:03 pm)

Does anyone else think this is possibly an overreaction? Someone ran from the police?

Mitch January 18, 2019 (7:49 pm)

Yup.
Jack January 18, 2019 (8:07 pm)

Absolutely. Couldn’t help but wonder if the same response would have been applied to a different person same circumstances.
- WW Resident January 20, 2019 (4:02 am)
  
  Well for the armchair critics who seem to live a bubble wrapped priveleged life for this to seem absurd, I’ll say this :The police do not tend to serve what they call “chippy” warrants, meaning some low level misdemeanor warrant. Arrests on those warrants tend to be when contact is made at traffic stops or some other random reason. The police obviously thought this person was a danger enough to the community that the warrant should be served. The warrant is most likely for a felony and possibly for a violent one. And the idea that they’re just a teenager is ridiculous. I’ve spoken with security of Highline School District, who are armed BTW, and they’ve told me some horror stories of violent students and students who committed homicide. If you think you can do a better job, SPD is definitely hiring

WSB January 18, 2019 (4:07 pm)

One note for any Seattle Public Schools parent/guardian with a concern, kudo, whatever, since no one has brought this up: Tomorrow (Saturday) happens to be one of your School Board Director Leslie Harris’s periodic community-conversation drop-in meetings, and you could certainly bring it up. Time/place are in our event calendar, 3 pm Delridge Library. – TR

LoveWS January 18, 2019 (4:40 pm)

I’m with you JEB, talk about overkill for someone unarmed who didn’t want to be served. I mean yay for spd for catching the scary unarmed runner, but I was actually in the middle of all that and thought for sure it must’ve been an armed robbery. Sorry to the moms though that are freaked out and angry about their schools, I would be too. It just cracks me up the number of comments as to where the ‘runner’ and police are. I mean there is a shortage of police, so even that many plus dogs?! For an unarmed runner? Where were they when my house got broken into? Nowhere.

Brenda January 18, 2019 (5:47 pm)

Pointless comment
Winston Smith January 18, 2019 (5:50 pm)

I have a daughter at Lafayette and received a letter from the principal stating that SPD was responding to a report of an armed individual in the community. I understand the frustration at the apparent lack of communication by school staff but imagine if parents received real time notifications of this lockdown. Many parents ,(myself included) would immediately begin to converge on the school which could potentially put more people in danger or disrupt police/fire activity.Strong work SPD and Lafayette staff. Thank you for protecting our kids.
- Nw mama January 18, 2019 (7:55 pm)
  
  My thoughts exactly.
Mike January 19, 2019 (7:10 am)

When you are being served a warrant for arrest and you run, you get this response. I’ll put it in perspective for you as to why police don’t mess around with these situations. A good friend of mine is a police officer south of here and was shot by a guy when he and a few other officers where serving a warrant for arrest. A few years later, that same buddy of mine lost his close friend, another police officer, when a suspect in a robbery shot and killed him as he was actively going to arrest them. Police go into situations where they don’t know who has a weapon, but they do know when somebody who’s already broken the law and is trying to evade officers when being served a warrant for their arrest, will more likely to turn into a violent altercation. As far as I can tell, no shots were fired on Jan 18th during any of this, no taser, no pepper spray, I’d say well done to arresting a criminal who was running from being arrested for prior crimes and NOT using excessive force. The parents of the juvenile that was arrested still has their kid, the families of the officers still have their respective family member. No other person was hurt. My kids are safe. That’s a win.

Lafayette parent January 18, 2019 (5:50 pm)

Seriously parents? You care more that your teachers and administrators are communicating with you rather than making sure that things are going okay within the school for the students? I imagine it wasn’t an easy to manage situation and they’ve likely learned some lessons. All my experience with this administration is that they are doing everything they can for our kids and teachers Also I think it was this pricipals first lock down at this school…

BMCC January 18, 2019 (5:51 pm)

SO JEB and LOVEWS – how do you know it was a teenager? And so what if it was? Maybe it was an 18 or 19 year old? Do a lot of teenagers have dreadlocks? If a kid is brazen enough to run – maybe the crime was brazen also. Yes – it was quite a scene with all the cops – but so what?

CatLady January 18, 2019 (8:14 pm)

“Do a lot of teenagers have dreadlocks?” I mean, yeah. I’m not sure why you think teenage POC don’t have hair, but you’re wrong about that.Also, I don’t think running from the cops is necessarily a sign that someone is “brazen”, I think they could just as easily be scared.
- Pete January 19, 2019 (6:34 am)
  
  How to not be scared?! Not having a warrant or a reason to be served…. How not to have warrant…not committing a crime…. How not to be scared, don’t commit the crime.

WSB January 18, 2019 (5:57 pm)

The suspect is a juvenile, we just confirmed, suspected of robbery. That’s a violent crime even if not armed. So that’s a little more context for the response.

MN January 18, 2019 (6:15 pm)

I think that this was an overreaction by SPD. Undercover cops, canines, schools locked down. I watched some of it unfold and totally understand that we want to keep everyone safe. However I saw the suspect – he looked like a harmless scared kid and was complying with officers.

Question Authority January 18, 2019 (7:57 pm)

He wasn’t wanted by the Police for his coffee cake recipe so quit your complaining and be grateful there’s one less criminal not running free, he easily could have had violent intentions and kids are an easy mark.
Pete January 19, 2019 (6:24 am)

He looked harmless? Do you draw conclusions or judge people by the way they look? He was complying?!… by doing what… running away? Lol
Ws prayers January 24, 2019 (1:47 pm)

I have a teenager and I couldn’t agree more in reality isn’t chasing the unarmed teen with guns drawn putting the community at risk? This makes me sick to my stomach all I can do is pray my teen stay out of trouble

Mmarie January 19, 2019 (1:35 am)

Seems like a possibly disproportionate police response looking to serve a 9th grader. I am not anti police or soft on crime but come on….I understand need to lockdown out of abundance of caution I guess. My child goes to wshs.

Philbert January 19, 2019 (8:13 am)

To those complaining about the police’s response to this. Will you make a pledge here on WSB that if YOU are the victim of a crime you DO NOT want SPD to make a big deal of it. And that you definitely DON’T WANT a big response.

Cathleen K. January 19, 2019 (8:59 am)

This occurred righht in front of me. I knew from the type and frequency of the police sirens, it was a major event. From my window I saw the swat team, the K-9 team and other officers engaged in the search yesterday. It was a rather frightening experience. Thank you all for your service. The fact that the suspect is suspected of committing burgarlues is a sobering thought.

WSB January 19, 2019 (11:11 am)

Robbery, is what police said. That is different from burglary. Robbery is a crime against persons because it means interacting with the person to take their property, whereas burglary means you stole thing(s) without that direct person to person interaction. People sometimes mistakenly say “my home was robbed” when what they mean is burglarized.

Mmarie January 19, 2019 (1:45 pm)

Of course SPD should take it seriously but also proportionately. SWAT seems to be ridiculous in this case.

WSB January 19, 2019 (2:15 pm)

They did NOT call out SWAT. Sorry, I needed to truth-squad more of the comments but have been a bit overwhelmed the past few days. There are regular officers who carry and are authorized to haul out the “long guns” in certain situations.

dsa January 19, 2019 (2:33 pm)

Stop panicking people. Professionals *are* doing their jobs. Let them do it.

WSHS Parent January 21, 2019 (2:06 pm)

My son and I discussed this over the weekend. He is a student at WSHS. We both thought it was a huge overreaction, and many kids missed lunch because of it – once it was lifted – rearrange the schedule and let kids out to get something to eat. Someone missed a court date and so swat teams are brought in to terrorize the entire area and school kids. Welcome to the police state, folks!

WS Neighbor January 22, 2019 (5:17 pm)

This was a juvenile and a dangerous one at that. He most likely was armed, has committed robberies in the community without any remorse, has little to no respect for authority or adults, he did not run because he was scared, he ran because that was his plan all along. He has more problems that you know and will ever know about. The Seattle School District does send out alerts and Lafayette is a part of that district. This was not an over reaction this was totally necessary. If you knew the student and his gang friends you would understand. I also have a student that attends WSHS.