WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Armed man arrested outside Rep. Jayapal’s home

6:49 PM: A 48-year-old man is jailed at the Regional Justice Center tonight, bail set at $500,000, after he was arrested outside the Arbor Heights home of U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, armed with a handgun. Police say he was arrested just before 11:30 pm Saturday after a 911 call reporting someone driving by, yelling obscenities. According to probable-cause documents, a neighbor said the shouting included something like “Go back to India, I’m going to kill you.” Police say the suspect was standing in the street when they arrived, hands in the air, a .40-caliber Glock handgun holstered on his waist. The court documents say he told them he knew who lived at the house, and that he wanted to pitch a tent on their property. Public records including the probable-cause documents show he lives several blocks from where he was arrested. Today was his first appearance; he is not yet charged, but is being held for investigation of malicious harassment. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office argued successfully for the amount of bail that was set, but their request for a criminal harassment protection order was denied. The KCPAO says the suspect has no known criminal history, and a check of records verifies that.

8:37 PM: Rep. Jayapal’s office has sent a statement:

Congresswoman Jayapal confirms that incidents occurred at her Seattle home on Saturday night when she was present. The Congresswoman and her family are safe and appreciate the many calls and good wishes she is receiving from constituents. She is very grateful for the swift and professional response from the Seattle Police Department, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the FBI investigators who are working together diligently on the investigation and ensuring that she and her family stay safe. Because this is an ongoing investigation, she will not be commenting further at this time.

WEDNESDAY EVENING UPDATE: According to the county jail register, the suspect was released late today and as far as we can tell has not been formally charged so far.

Ben July 11, 2022 (7:16 pm)

So when they figure out how to pass stricter laws, they should be sure to set the bar at least high enough that this guy can’t get a gun please.

Buck July 11, 2022 (9:00 pm)

Wouldn’t that be nice, this guy is a clear and present danger.

Chuck Jacobs July 11, 2022 (9:12 pm)

1. The legislature passed many stricter gun laws in the last session. 2. What laws do you imagine would have prevented an adult with no criminal history from “getting a gun”?

Ben July 11, 2022 (10:51 pm)

If criminal record is the only measure of fitness to own a gun, there isn’t much point to gun control. As an example – In most of the mass shootings (school shootings in particular) the guns have been legally purchased by “clean” individuals. One thread that is consistent though is history of mental illness or clinically measurable mental distress at the time of purchase. At the very least, I would think a social media screening of fanaticism might be helpful even if we feel like a mental health evaluation is just too much Science. At this point, the conversation tends to flip to extremes as advocates on both sides throw their arms up with similarly exasperated, “y’all are crazy” talk. However, there are plenty of reasonable ideas of real measures that would make us all happier if we’d have reasonabledialogue about it. They are tried and tested in many countries around the world. None are perfect, but most have prevented the kinds of numbers we see in the US of children dying by gunfire (887 so far this year).This guy may well have purchased his gun when he’d clear all possible iterations of screening, but after this event – conviction or no – I believe he should never again be allowed to carry or own a weapon.
Felix Grounds July 12, 2022 (8:16 am)

Ok, fair enough.But how about passing federal legislation that puts this guy on a list, and prevents him from legally purchasing or owning any firearms for the rest of his life.Do you think the GOP will get on board with that?

Dumbfounded July 11, 2022 (9:25 pm)

No criminal history should not matter in a case like this, that’s BS, this is a one strike you’re out when you have a gun and clear and present danger.

Adam July 12, 2022 (9:20 am)

Pretty sure, and thankfully, that’s not how our justice system works.

Gina July 11, 2022 (9:28 pm)

Good grief!!

RickB July 11, 2022 (9:44 pm)

Time to get going on repealing the second amendment.

1994 July 11, 2022 (10:00 pm)

I agree. This dude is clearly not part of a well armed militia, as if we even need one. These militia types seem more like wanna be gang members. They don’t make me safer.Stay strong Pramila!
Alki resident July 11, 2022 (10:24 pm)

For what? We have a right to have our guns. Should we start banning cars and knives too since they do so much damage?
- Terry July 12, 2022 (3:06 pm)
  
  Please tell me you aren’t still running out this ridiculous, tired argument
Peter July 11, 2022 (10:37 pm)

If applied consistently, the Supreme Court’s originalism doctrine means the 2nd amendment only applies to weapons that were available to the public at the time of its writing. If the court is honest and they’re not just a bunch of political schools, then no modern firearms are actually legal under the 2nd Amendment.
- Pessoa July 13, 2022 (2:00 pm)
  
  The 2nd Amendment was included in the Constitution as a state counterweight to a tyrannical federal government, though one can argue there were other considerations as well. We are a Republic, after all. Caetano vs Massachusetts correctly interpreted this to include the right to bear arms that were not in existence when the Constitution was drafted.
StopCuttingDownTrees July 11, 2022 (10:39 pm)

Luckily, we have our 9th Amendment to protect our Second and other Amendments. It’s our Second-most important Amendment for a VERY good reason.
- Pessoa July 14, 2022 (7:41 pm)
  
  Indeed.
anonyme July 12, 2022 (5:56 am)

Not a bad idea, but the Supreme Court is far more interested in abortion than in the deaths of tens of thousands of people every year due to gun violence. Gun owners have more rights than women do. However, there are many more things the legislature could do. This took place a couple of blocks from my home, and it’s unnerving to be surrounded by these lunatics, not even knowing (for sure) who they are. It seems like this guy should be facing much more serious charges, but gun violence just isn’t prosecuted as it should be. In a sane world, this guy would never be allowed to own a gun again.
- WS98 July 12, 2022 (1:14 pm)
  
  I agree, no civilian needs to own a weapon that kills many in seconds and it’s hypocritical how conservative politicians/leaders conveniently exclude mass shooting deaths in their right to life agenda. Wait, that’s because their real agenda is desperate attempts to maintain white power through oppression and lying to hold onto their dwindling voter base. They don’t really care about true democracy, this playbook has been in use by them for decades, they’re desperate now the majority of citizens support the key platforms they used to create fear in their base – abortion, equality, guns. https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/02/conservatives-dont-want-true-democracy-and-nice-republicans-are-no-exception

TJ July 11, 2022 (10:01 pm)

Repealing the second amendment is not realistic. Gun ownership has risen dramatically in the last 2 years, and no it’s not just conservatives who now are buying them. The country is so divided now that people don’t trust other people or the government and won’t give up any weapons. That’s not just me talking. This guy had no criminal record, so lets see if he had a concealed weapons permit. It convicted of a felony here, then he loses that.

Jay July 11, 2022 (10:59 pm)

This is basically terrorism and the guy should be red flagged until the end of his life. It shouldn’t take a felony charge to remove his gun rights.
ttt July 11, 2022 (11:53 pm)

Does he even need a concealed weapons permit? Isn’t WA an open carry state? Everything had gotten out of balance since in our country including many gun wielding people, which is scary.
- Peter S. July 12, 2022 (9:46 am)
  
  Washington IS an open carry state. However, that doesn’t give one the right to intimidation. I can (hopefully) guarantee that SPD would show up pronto if I “openly carried” an assault rifle to Alki Beach on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Even without being overtly threatening. Minimally , I’d be creating a public disturbance and likely face more serious charges.
Terri July 12, 2022 (9:20 am)

The number of guns being purchased is up but not the actual number of owners. Significantly fewer than half of the people in this country own a firearm — about 30% self reporting according to Pew Research June 2021 — and this has declined somewhat since the 1970s. Far more people — around 70% — believe that gun violence is a “very big” or “moderately big” issue in this country. Don’t buy into the self-fulfilling prophecy that nothing can be done because “everyone” has or wants or needs a gun!

935 July 11, 2022 (10:45 pm)

“Clear and Present Danger”??

Are we now recycling Harrison Ford movie titles from 1994?

Maybe we should have a naked gun 33 1/3. Or a zero tolerance. Definitely not a love is a gun

Rafa Paradela July 11, 2022 (11:22 pm)

This problem only happens in this country, because of a law that only exists in this country. Everything else is BS.

Scubafrog July 11, 2022 (11:38 pm)

It’s sad that a hate crime’s only a class C felony (and many pleading out on lesser charges, including probation). If someone’s targeted for their skin color, or sexual orientation *things that have been used as excuses for genocide*, a hate crime should be updated to a class A felony, with mandatory multi-year prison sentencing. The dramatic resurgence of white supremacists nationwide,are met with little-to-no consequence in their horrible errand.

shotinthefoot July 12, 2022 (8:40 am)

Why are all commenters just focused on the guns? Let’s talk instead about where this guy was radicalized. Guessing he’s a trump voter and a frequent watcher of Faux News and Sucker Carlson. The mental damage based on those two things are the real problem. Lock this guy up forever. He is clearly too mentally damaged by the trump cult to be out among civilized people.

RK July 12, 2022 (9:09 am)

We know EXACTLY who this guy is, and strongly suspect he is the same person who lit M80’s in our front yard late one night (not anywhere near the Fourth of July calendar wise), potentially (probably) because of the Black Lives Matter sign we had in our front yard. The truck he has parked out front of his house has “F*#$ Jay Inslee” and other such stickers plastered all over it, unsurprisingly.

Adam July 12, 2022 (9:36 am)

Honestly what I think is crazy is that one person clearly breaks a law, not uses a right to bear arms but breaks a law, and the answer coming out from the public is to then take away the right given to law abiding citizens. If that were me at home, with a likely violent person outside with a gun, I’d be calling 9-1-1 while arming myself, hoping all the while I don’t need to use it.

heyalki July 12, 2022 (9:47 am)

It’s shockingly easy to get a CWP here in WA. They just have you fill out a survey and you check the boxes saying that you aren’t crazy or have drug problems, they take your fingerprints, pay the fee, and that’s it. Plus background check obviously. They don’t ask you even once if you know how to use a gun safely. In some other states you have to actually prove that you know how to use a gun via target test before getting a CWP, which makes way more sense.

Adam July 12, 2022 (10:03 am)

Funny the way you sorta toss in “background check” as an afterthought following your obviously biased take on concealed weapons permitting in WA. While j agree there should be training for ALL firearms owners, we’ll never get there without honest debate so let’s not build a flawed argument and run with it. So, as for the rest of what you say, just have to say you’re not crazy or on drugs, well yeah. Weird. I guess the way rights work is that they’re a right, not a privilege, and so no you cannot just say no to someone without reason if they’ve passed all checks. There’s no Minority Report like division out there to preemptively arrest or remove the rights of all of us on the possibility we may, at some time in the future and without any signs yet it’ll happen, just go off and start shooting ppl. Weird, I know

flimflam July 12, 2022 (9:55 am)

While I agree that guns in general and the ease with which they can be attained is a problem, there seems to be a deeper issue in this country. Violence is not unique to the US but unhinged people (usually men) lashing out at strangers seems way out of proportion here. What is so different and wrong with us that we seem so much more unhinged and willing to inflict violence upon others?

Jeepney July 12, 2022 (12:21 pm)

Regardless of your opinions on who you think should be allowed to carry a gun, this is clearly a person on crisis who needs immediate and sustained mental health treatment. Allowing this behavior to go unchecked or treated has the potential for tragedy.

ArborRes July 12, 2022 (5:10 pm)

As disturbing as this news is, I’m relieved it wasn’t even worse, as this situation could clearly have escalated, and this armed suspect could have posed a danger not to only to Rep. Jayapal, but the surrounding neighborhood. My heart goes out to the congresswoman, her family and her neighbors, as this must have been very traumatizing for everyone. The suspect, from news accounts, appears to reside in the area, so I hope there will be some effort (like a prison sentence or commitment in a mental health facility) to thwart his potential for danger to the community.

Sorry, comment time is over.