WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Another gunfire investigation

| Crime | High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

7:20 PM: Thanks for the tips. Police are investigating another case of car-to-car gunfire right now – they’ve found “rifle casings” at two scenes, both in High Point, one on SW Graham and one on SW Morgan (both at the intersections with Lanham). No victims reported so far. Police are blocking traffic on SW Graham at 34th and to the east of there. Updates to come.

7:29 PM: Now police are saying there’s only one scene with casings, Graham/Lanham. According to dispatch, differing descriptions of the cars involved. (added) They’re also checking Sylvan/Holly.

7:45 PM: Photos added of markers showing where casings were found. Our crew talked with some of the witnesses who say they saw gunfire from a white car, and that a red car might have been involved too.

ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: Police say this incident and the earlier one in Sunrise Heights might be related. Their summary of this one says, “Witnesses advised that a red sedan was following a white sedan from behind, heading Westbound on SW Graham St. Witnesses said occupants from both vehicles were firing shots. Officers located evidence of a shooting from Lanham Pl Sw and SW Graham St. Officers also found evidence of a shooting at the west side of the intersection of 35 Ave Sw/SW Graham St. Officers continued to canvas the area and found property damage on an unoccupied vehicle.” If you have any information, the SPD incident # is 22-106623.

SD April 28, 2022 (7:31 pm)

I witnessed this from my apartment. I saw a red colored coupe/sedan speeding thru 35th Ave SW. This is terrifying.

Mhdzcol April 28, 2022 (8:00 pm)

I heard ir from mine – just around the corner from the scene. At first I thought someone was dragging something metal like against the ground but then I heard a second round of shots and saw my neighbor running away from 34th and Graham with his dog. Definitely terrifying.
Robert April 28, 2022 (10:09 pm)

I can confirm a red coupe as well. Just caught a glimpse of the car speeding away as I heard the shots.

Stephanie Nicolai April 28, 2022 (7:37 pm)

Absolutely scary. Shot all the way up and down Graham between 35th and Lanham. I’ve lived in my condo 4 years and while we’ve had some static in the street a time or two- nothing like this.

Stephanie Nicolai April 28, 2022 (7:39 pm)

Car was a white four door sedan – I’d say a Ford Focus. Shooter shooting from the back window shooting still as it exited Graham onto 35th
- Jonny April 28, 2022 (8:59 pm)
  
  I just got shot at by white car with dude hanging out open door shooting an ak 47 at me as I passedhe hit my rack 20 30 rounds in 10seconds w the Total Fff!16th and 100th wc-
  - Frog April 28, 2022 (10:29 pm)
    
    I am not a gun guy, but as I understand, no civilian legal semi-automatic weapon can fire more than about 10 rounds in 10 seconds. Are you exaggerating, or are fully automatic weapons now circulating in Seattle? (It has to happen eventually; just waiting for the day.)
    - Tammy April 28, 2022 (11:19 pm)
      
      Sounded close to ten shots or more within seconds. I was 50 feet away.
    - Cyndi April 29, 2022 (7:13 am)
      
      Criminals don’t care about gun laws, or what they’re allowed to have. They get whatever they want to get illegally.
    - Walker April 29, 2022 (7:19 am)
      
      With the right gun/trigger setup it’s possible, and currently legal. Shouldn’t be, but it is.
    - Joah April 29, 2022 (7:38 am)
      
      One round per second seems pretty slow to me. I think most semi-automatic weapons can fire much faster than that.
      
      Magazine sizes have been limited to 10 fairly recently, but I imagine there are still many higher capacity mags still out there.
    - Btown April 29, 2022 (8:47 am)
      
      Not true at all. 1-3 rounds per second is pretty standard. Trained or competitive shooters can shoot even faster.
    - Ex-Westwood Resident April 29, 2022 (10:48 am)
      
      ALL weapons have two/three modes of fire;
      1. SAFE
      2. Semi-Automatic; One round per trigger pull
      and in the case of Automatic firearms,
      3. Auto or Burst; One trigger pull, multiple rounds fired until magazine is empty or trigger is released, whichever comes first.
      
      A Semi-Automatic weapon (automatic weapons are only legally owned by Class III FFL holders) fires ONE round per trigger pull, NO matter the set-up or equipment attached to it.
      
      If you can pull the trigger 10 time in one second, you will fire 10 rounds. Physically impossible by the way. The average person will get two trigger pulls in a second, highly trained four.
      
      A Semi-Automatic Rifle functions the SAME way as a Semi-Automatic pistol.
      
      One round per one trigger pull. In order to LEGALLY purchase and own an Automatic weapon, the person MUST obtain a CLASS III Firearms license which are expensive, takes about a year to get and are tracked by BATFE.
      
      The AR-15 style weapons are NOT Automatic weapons and there is NO military in the WORLD that uses the AR-15 as standard weapon.
      
      AR does NOT stand for “Automatic Rifle” as some think it does. It stands for ARmalite model 15.
    - Dave April 29, 2022 (11:33 am)
      
      As a gun guy, your facts aren’t completely accurate. I own semi automatic weapons and they can definitely deliver more than a round a second. It’s as fast as you can pull the trigger. There are also people that have modified semi autos to do what’s called a bump fire which is basically one of the fastest ways to unload a semi auto.
    - Fitz May 13, 2022 (2:25 pm)
      
      A semi-automatic weapon means one bullet for every one pull of the trigger. It would be hard to get off 10 rounds in 10 seconds but do-able.If it’s an automatic weapon, those are illegal in most states with a few states OKing it with licensing of some sort.That said, most criminals don’t buy guns through the legal channels.
  - SPD May 4, 2022 (1:02 pm)
    
    Hi Jonny, SPD Here, can you send me an email at spd8680@seattle.gov about the incident involving a white car shooting at you on 04/28/22 and a good phone number to call you at?

junctioneer April 28, 2022 (7:50 pm)

Heard what sounded like gunshots and saw a car speeding/screeching south on 31st next to Walt Hundley past all the kids practicing sports. Plenty of people probably saw it, if it’s the same one in this article. Car maybe had shattered glass. Looked more like a white or silver chevy impala sort of vehicle.

Buddy April 28, 2022 (7:58 pm)

White center area by taco time shooting also around 7:45pm

Jessica Koch April 28, 2022 (7:59 pm)

I was on the sidewalk of the block they were shooting at, about 200ft behind me. I could only see the person and remember seeing it was a man shooting out the passenger window and he was a black man. Then the gun shots from the car were followed by another series of shots….i was terrified. I was too focused on the gun to remember what color the car was but I know it was a dad an. A man came over to me after I ducked from the gunfire, and he gave a description of the car to 911 when we called.

Jessica Koch April 28, 2022 (8:16 pm)

What I don’t get is that I was the only one on the sidewalk, they were just shooting, it seemed entirely random, which to me, is even scarier

I April 28, 2022 (8:00 pm)

I heard two rounds of several shots from the direction of the location mentioned followed by the sound of a car speeding away. This was from several blocks away.

Seattlite April 28, 2022 (8:03 pm)

This is so unacceptable and dangerous in a civilized society. How did Seattle get to this point?

CL April 28, 2022 (8:05 pm)

I was driving north on 35th around 7pm and heard a series of gunshots nearby and then I was almost rear-ended by a speeding red car between Graham and Raymond. I sped up and swerved out of the way trying to avoid other traffic while the red car fled north on 35th at a very high speed. I’ve filed a report with the police. It was very scary.

StopCuttingDownTrees April 28, 2022 (8:24 pm)

A red sedan and a light-colored sedan are also the suspect description cars in the Sunrise Heights shooting just before this.

Spring April 28, 2022 (8:46 pm)

I am sure there are cameras along the” Interstate Highway 35″Would love to see the videos of the people shooting and speeding away.Sounds like we are on the streets of Afghanistan

Adam April 28, 2022 (8:51 pm)

A red car has been involved in shooting in WMW on random cars (they reported HONDA red car) … wonder if a detective is following up on this!

Tammy April 28, 2022 (9:59 pm)

I was at the park behind Neighborhood House with my dog. Saw the white car, not the red. Definitely multiple gunfire. Terrified.

Save Lives April 28, 2022 (10:17 pm)

I urge you all to support gun violence prevention organizations. A good one to support in WA state is the Alliance for Gun Responsibility which has done a lot to bring sane laws to WA state https://secure.everyaction.com/zzh4KykH9kK7ff-tdyL2DA2
Also, we need to increase support for police. Boston has the same number of citizens as Seattle and much less land and they have twice as many police officers as Seattle.

Andrew April 29, 2022 (7:11 am)

Police officers do not prevent gun violence.
- M April 29, 2022 (8:45 am)
  
  That’s right. They respond to it. And the clearance rates are low to boot!
- jradz April 29, 2022 (9:55 am)
  
  Police presence DOES reduce crime rates. Look at Alki each May compared to July… then count the shootings.
Cyndi April 29, 2022 (7:20 am)

A little different piece of advice is to take a gun safety class, become educated in self defense and carry to protect yourself. Gun restriction laws don’t work well, as criminals access those weapons illegally. Criminals typically do many things illegally. Oh, and I agree with supporting the police as well as toughening up consequences.
- KB April 29, 2022 (11:20 am)
  
  I’d much rather fix the core problem of too many guns in too many hands. Advising more people to buy guns and carry them around is just going to increase gun violence. If multiple people had been carrying guns and began shooting “in self defense” as these cars drove by, the odds of bystanders getting shot would have increased even more. We have to find a way to ramp down our gun culture rather than continuing the proliferation of weapons. We also need an intense focus on reducing drug usage and trade as I have no doubt that the increase in fentanyl in this area is a contributing factor. Not Seattle, but here’s an article about our neighbors to the east and the role of fentanyl in gun violence: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/spokane-county-grapples-with-fentanyl-related-gun-violence/article_1ea62c58-bc2a-11ec-a0cb-17df83210079.amp.html.
Ex-Westwood Resident April 29, 2022 (11:02 am)

There are NO laws that have been passed by the WA Legislature, or ANY state Legislature OR Congress, that has done ONE iota to reduce gun violence.

Criminals do NOT obey the law and will get the guns no matter what.

You want to do something about guns?

Try this;

Commit a crime with a LEGALLY owned gun – 5 years ADDED to your sentence

Found in possession of a firearm ILLEGALLY – 5 years, plus one month for each round of ammunition.

Commit a crime using a gun that is ILLEGALLY possessed, 10 years, plus 2 months for each round of ammunition, added to the sentence.

These charges can NOT be plead down and MUST be charged . NO time can be taken off the sentences and there is no “Minor” exemption.
- Fred May 2, 2022 (12:21 pm)
  
  I would be supportive of laws as you mentioned. This proposed legislation does not have any effect on the rights of lawful gun owners.

Aubrey Herbert April 28, 2022 (10:21 pm)

I live near Taco Time in White Center and also heard gun shots around 7:45

Jay April 29, 2022 (12:50 pm)

Yeah, I was standing a block north and it sounded like about a dozen rounds were exchanged in the intersection of 16th and 102. Two guns firing rapidly for a couple seconds and cars driving away.

Frog April 28, 2022 (10:30 pm)

Pardon possibly dumb question, but were the two cars shooting at each other, or just shooting up the town for fun?

Mj April 28, 2022 (10:36 pm)

This shooting needs to be stopped, the perps need to be caught, prosecuted and thrown into jail for a very very long time!

CM April 28, 2022 (11:51 pm)

It was awesome (sarcasm) watching my 11 year old daughter and her friends on the field from a distance when we all heard the shots. Then spending the ride home with her and her friend talking about the white car they saw speeding away. They laughed it off when they were together but she later admitted that she was a little scared. I watched her coach assessing the situation I could tell he was thinking about, what next, if it escalated while trying to keep things moving and casual for the girls. I know Seattle is a safe place compared to so many others but no 11 year olds anywhere should have to have that top of mind when they are just trying to be kids doing kid things. They deserve better.

Scubafrog April 29, 2022 (7:10 am)

I remember the bloodshed that came with the crack epidemic in the 80’s and early 90’s. Back when one couldn’t wear red or blue to school. We’re quickly devolving back into that – and it’s not about crack nor colors this time. We don’t have the adequate police numbers nor even the sentencing guidelines for our worst perpetrators, this time. Judges want to gently nudge the offenders, and play soft. That doesn’t work. Seemingly, the best our politicians can do is say “we might give police candidates a moving incentive”. Bruce Harrell has an opportunity to lead on crime per his campaign promises. So far, empty words. We need politicians/prosecutors/judges to get aggressive criminals, and send a clear message: “If you commit a felony, you’re going to prison – no more free passes.”

El jefe' April 30, 2022 (9:48 pm)

Right on!!!! 👍

WS resident April 29, 2022 (7:40 am)

Ahhh, spring in Seattle, always an uptick in drive bys and usually on this corner. I lived close to there for 5 years. Once a person was shot broad daylight at the gas station on a Sunday afternoon, there were two drive bys on my street and always heard about more on that corner. This isn’t new.

Cadystat April 29, 2022 (8:45 am)

I think I got a picture of the white car. Does anybody know the best way to send this to the police?

WS Person April 29, 2022 (10:51 am)

Apparently the correct procedure is to call 911 and report that you have information. They’ll take that down and then an officer will call you and send you a link to upload it.
Concerned Citizen April 29, 2022 (10:59 am)

Call the Southwest Precinct (206) 733-9800.
~Hockeywitch~ April 29, 2022 (11:06 am)

Cadystat, I would call them probably 911 not non emergency, and let them know.. They can direct you as to how to get the photo to them.. I’m sure they would be interested in seeing the photo.
- WSB April 29, 2022 (11:09 am)
  
  Also note that I’ve just updated each of the Thursday gunfire reports with the SPD incident number, so if you call to try to get info to police, you can use the incident # for reference. – TR
- Cadystat April 29, 2022 (2:49 pm)
  
  Thanks everyone. We were able to get it to them. Hard to say if it had anything to do with the incident, but was out of place, and sounds like it matched the description of one of the cars.
  - ~Hockeywitch~ April 29, 2022 (7:37 pm)
    
    Who knows, your photo MIGHT be just what is needed… Better to give and it not be it, than to not and it was THE THING that breaks the case…. Thank you for giving them the photo..

RickB April 29, 2022 (9:08 am)

Time to repeal 2A and confiscate all the guns.

Dave April 29, 2022 (11:43 am)

You’re kidding right? Disarm law abiding citizens so that the ones that don’t follow laws already are the only ones armed? You realize drugs are illegal and criminals have access to them right? Take guns away from from everyone, the only ones that have them would be criminals.
Pessoa April 29, 2022 (11:47 am)

When you take all the guns away, only criminals and police will have them. Sorry, there’ll be no totalitarian seizure of guns from private citizens.
- Jort April 29, 2022 (3:57 pm)
  
  Many, many other countries around the world do not have such wildly permissive firearm “laws,” yet do not manage to fall into totalitarian dystopias. What, specifically, do you think requires the United States uniquely to have widespread, barely-restricted access to firearms in order to stave off a totalitarian government takeover? Please contrast your reasons with examples of how this would not apply to other countries that manage to do just fine without the Second Amendment?
  - Pessoa April 29, 2022 (5:13 pm)
    
    What is your definition of a “totalitarian dystopia,” Jort? In Europe and in Australia the police were deputized, so to speak, to enforce vaccine mandates, by force if necessary. Do yourself a favor and view some of the frightening scenes that available on various platforms of police roughing up those who simply didn’t wear a mask. Is this your idea of a kind, freedom-loving, peaceful paradise? I get the feeling from your posts and others like you, maybe it is. You and those like you have such absurdly naive conception of Europe. Go out for a bier with Pierre or Hans and after knocking down a couple the blissful socialist facade will come off and they’ll tell you how they really feel. But of course, that would mean leaving the cozy intellectual bubble that is West Seattle.
  - Peter S. April 29, 2022 (6:21 pm)
    
    @Jort: While your first sentence is essentially correct, there also are many countries with highly restrictive gun laws which are borderline dystopian anarchies in places. (Mexico, for example.) To address your last sentence, Switzerland is a great example of a country that somehow manages high rates of firearm ownership AND low firearm crime rates. Switzerland hasn’t had a mass shooting since 2001, when a man stormed the local parliament in Zug, killing 14 people and then himself.
    1) Switzerland is obsessed with getting shooting right. Every year, it holds a shooting contest for kids aged 13 to 17.
    2) Most Swiss men are required to learn how to use a gun. Switzerland has mandatory military service for men. All men between the ages of 18 and 34 deemed “fit for service” are given a pistol or a rifle and trained. After they’ve finished their service, the men can typically buy and keep their service weapons. In addition to the militia’s arms, the country has about 2 million privately owned guns. This, in a nation of 8.3 million people.
    3) Gun sellers follow strict licensing procedures. Swiss laws are designed to prevent anyone who’s violent or incompetent from owning a gun. People who’ve been convicted of a crime or have an alcohol or drug addiction aren’t allowed to buy guns in Switzerland. Gun owners who want to carry their weapon for “defensive purposes” also have to prove they can properly load, unload, and shoot their weapon and must pass a test to get a license.
    4) Having an armed citizenry helped keep the Swiss neutral for more than 200 years. The Swiss stance is one of “armed neutrality”. Many Swiss see gun ownership as part of a patriotic duty to protect their homeland. 1815 was the last time Switzerland was invaded by another state, namely France.
    
    There are multiple sources which can corroborate the above info. As a tragic aside, I’m pretty sure there are many Ukrainian civilians who wished they had better access to guns. Especially those who were brutally slaughtered.
    - war and peace April 29, 2022 (8:25 pm)
      
      War and violence on fellow humans is always tragic. Fighting violence with violence is more violence. What would happen if a country under attack responded another way, rather than fighting back with violence? Is there any other choice? Would the aggressor continue? For how long? How would the world respond to a murderous country?
Ex-Westwood Resident April 29, 2022 (1:06 pm)

The Second protects the First.
Cadystat April 29, 2022 (2:50 pm)

I usually just stop talking to gun owners. I’m a big fan of shunning people who like murder machines.
- Jort April 29, 2022 (4:24 pm)
  
  It is the weirdest hobby, to take pride in having a pathological desire to own shiny machines whose sole and only purpose is terminating the life of other human beings. It’s so ghoulish and bizarre. Doubly strange that there’s almost no recognition by firearm hobbyists that it is, in fact, a weird, niche hobby and not the civilization-sustaining security blanket that they constantly insist it is. It’s as though the live-action role playing people who wear homemade suits of armor and play swords on the college quad think they’re the critical thin line between civil society and outright anarchy. They’re not. They’re weird. It’s a weird hobby. I just wish it wasn’t so catastrophically dangerous for the rest of us.
  - StopCuttingDownTrees April 29, 2022 (6:11 pm)
    
    After my family escaped Cambodia in 1975 with only our lives, I’m VERY GLAD to live in the USA where we have the right to keep and bear arms. We don’t need your permission, Jort.
  - Pessoa May 1, 2022 (7:25 am)
    
    Yes, Jort, those who of us with actual lived life experience know that society does teeter between order and chaos, that anyone is capable of horrific acts given the right provocation and/or rationale, that even a peaceful rally can turn into a violent mob, that a governmental for the people and by the people is not always for the people and by the people.
- Pessoa April 29, 2022 (9:18 pm)
  
  “Murder machines.” Is that what you tell the police officer he’s carrying, when he/she arrives at your house after a frantic 9/11 call? Let me guess, probably not.

Peter S. April 29, 2022 (9:14 pm)

@ War and Peace: Sadly, I think we are watching that play out in Ukraine, right now.

war and peace April 29, 2022 (11:51 pm)

Ukraine has responded with fighting and violence, which is to be expected when a country is under attack, understandable response, and yet that is engaging in war which perpetuates violence, right? Was curious about a truly radical non violent response to war, what might happen. Would the aggressor wipe them out or stop when they realized there was no war but just them attacking? I’d like to think there is an option of peace winning in this world, somehow. Trying to imagine.

What is happening is tragic, and I know many of us feel helpless to the situation, wishing this violence on Ukraine would end. Prayers for Ukraine and all friends and family here in the US.