West Seattle Crime Watch: Man shot in bar bathroom

| Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Thanks for the tip about an early-morning emergency response at the Tug Inn. We followed up with SPD and SFD and here’s what they tell us: SFD medics took a 59-year-old man to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition with a gunshot wound. The full report isn’t available yet but SPD spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson says the early details show police were called to the bar just before 12:30 am after a gunshot was heard in a restroom. That’s where they found the victim. Officers found a shell casing in the bathroom but not the gun. They don’t have information about the circumstances except to say they believe someone else was in the restroom with the victim at the time but left before police arrived, and there’s no description.

West Seattle Hipster March 18, 2019 (11:09 am)

Yikes!! I love The Tug Inn, one of the last real bars in West Seattle that serves good beer and is not pretentious. Hopefully this is just an isolated incident.

Maude March 18, 2019 (3:00 pm)

There are cameras all over the inside of Tug Inn. They should be coming up with a description at some point.

john March 18, 2019 (5:40 pm)

Victim is a character and a nice guy. Hope he makes it and they find the menace to us all shooter.

Withheld March 18, 2019 (10:16 pm)

That’s the world’s smallest bathroom and right beside the bar. There’s no chance somebody slips out without somebody seeing something

Na March 19, 2019 (6:35 pm)

The cameras there dont really record

Chuck Jacobs March 19, 2019 (9:45 pm)

Carrying a gun in a bar – against the law.Discharging a firearm in Seattle city limits – against the law.Shooting someone – against the law.Clearly we need more common sense gun laws.

Brian Hughes March 20, 2019 (5:52 am)

Chuck, so what you’re saying is that he would have gotten shot no matter what? Nothing could have altered fate? Or maybe you think he and everyone else in the bar should have been armed, because then they’d all be safe? I’m not sure how that logic holds up.What we need are a lot fewer guns. There are an estimated 300 million guns in circulation in the USA. What are the chances that at least one person in any public place you visit is armed? Bad guy, good guy, indifferent guy, it doesn’t matter. When a gun walks into a bar, the odds that someone is going to get shot increase.Tell me it’s your right to buy whatever gun you want and take it wherever you please and I’ll say that the criminal you’re trying to protect yourself against has exactly the same rights, kindly provided by you and the NRA. “Laws only hurt the law-abiding! Criminals will get guns illegally!” Yep, but the difference there is they will be a criminal at the time the gun is purchased and can then be arrested and prosecuted for the purchase. Your way makes us wait until they actually use the gun in a crime. Isn’t that a little late?Laws don’t fix everything. Ban all gun sales today and people will continue to get shot for decades because of the volume of guns out there. But make no mistake – that massive volume is a common denominator for any shooting that occurs in this country.

Chuck Jacobs March 20, 2019 (10:41 am)

“Chuck, so what you’re saying is that he would have gotten shot no matter what? Nothing could have altered fate?” One, I’m making an assumption that the shooter did not have a valid reason for shootin the victim, like self defense. otherwise he probably wouldn’t have run away. Two, guns exist and human beings posses them – therefore people and things will get shot , for good and bad reasons. Guns are not evil or good – they are tools which may be used or misused. “What are the chances that at least one person in any public place you visit is armed?” Probably higher than you would expect, except in a prohibited area such as a tavern where they may only be carried by employees and the police. “When a gun walks into a bar, the odds that someone is going to get shot increase.” Guns can’t walk by themselves, but I know what you mean. When you buy a lottery ticket, your odds of winning increase dramatically, they are still infinitesmal. “Tell me it’s your right to buy whatever gun you want and take it wherever you please and I’ll say that the criminal you’re trying to protect yourself against has exactly the same rights, kindly provided by you and the NRA.” There are many types of guns we cannot buy and many areas we are not permitted to carry them. Convicted criminals have even fewer rights. The right of self defense is inherent in mankind, it is enumerated in the constitutions of the United States and Washington State. One of the missions of the NRA is to help protect that right. “Yep, but the difference there is they will be a criminal at the time the gun is purchased and can then be arrested and prosecuted for the purchase.” Those who fail background checks attempting to purchase a firearm from a dealer are rarely prosecuted. Most criminals obtain their guns by stealing them, purchasing them from another criminal, or getting them through a straw purchaser. “Your way makes us wait until they actually use the gun in a crime.” The point I was making above is that they committed several crimes before the victim got shot. If anyone has a proposal for a new law which would prevent criminals from obtaining and/or using guns illegally, without infringing the rights of the law abiding, I’d be happy to entertain it.

Leroy March 20, 2019 (3:54 pm)

Chuck Jacobs… An employee could be armed with a hand gun at an establishment that sells alcohol? I don’t have an opinion about it, for I am just curious.

Chuck Jacobs March 20, 2019 (8:40 pm)

Any kind of gun, any kind of weapon really… as long as it is otherwise legal to posses: RCW 9.41.300 — Weapons prohibited in certain places — (1) It is unlawful for any person to enter the following places when he or she knowingly possesses or knowingly has under his or her control a weapon: — (d) That portion of an establishment classified by the state liquor and cannabis board as off-limits to persons under twenty-one years of age. — (10) Subsection (1)(d) of this section does not apply to the proprietor of the premises or his or her employees while engaged in their employment. They don’t even need a concealed pistol license to carry it concealed: RCW 9.41.050 — Carrying firearms — (1)(a) Except in the person’s place of abode or fixed place of business, a person shall not carry a pistol concealed on his or her person without a license to carry a concealed pistol.

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