WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Gunfire on 35th SW

One more gunfire incident to report from last night – this time from the SPD report summaries: Around 11:30 pm in the 7500 block of 35th SW, 911 callers reported “hearing 4 shots and a vehicle speeding away,” according to the summary. Police found a driver who told them he was heading southbound on 35th SW when a black Mercedes came up to pass them in the turn lane, and shot at them while doing so. No injuries but, the report says, the “victim’s vehicle was struck one time, incapacitating the vehicle.” Officers found evidence of gunfire and also a Metro bus driver who saw what happened; investigators were checking to see if the bus camera(s) recorded anything related.

Concerned August 15, 2022 (11:36 am)

What time did this happen? Also, I can’t help wondering… witnesses at the scene of the shooting on SW Hill St. last weekend reported one, possibly two black sedans leaving the scene (I know this because I live on this street); then a black car was possibly involved in the shooting at Hamilton Viewpoint last night; and now a black car involved in this shooting. Certainly black cars are not uncommon, and I know this is pure conjecture, but… possible connections?

WSB August 15, 2022 (11:54 am)

Sorry to have omitted that detail, added now: 11:30 pm.

Gun Culture August 15, 2022 (11:50 am)

It is fatiguing, all the shooting incidents in West Seattle. Are there really far more incidents this year, or does it only seem that, WSB, you merely are reporting more? Gun laws, buy-backs, deeper background checks, entirely new and responsible best practices, let’s put them all on the table and change this sh**. We need more impassioned, outspoken leaders cut from same cloth as Beto. Please, for the sake of our community, stop with the gun violence.

Rhonda August 15, 2022 (12:21 pm)

Washington State has passed laws in recent years requiring background checks on EVERY private gun sale/transfer, restricted the age to buy a semi-auto rifle to age 21, requires a training class for all purchasers, and 10-business day waiting period. Magazines over 10 rounds have been banned, we have extreme-risk order red flag confiscation, and guns cannot be carried at political gatherings. However, shootings and other illegal gun-related crime has only INCREASED. The biggest change has been the new laws which limit law enforcement pursuits and prohibit reasonable suspicion as a tool to investigate criminal activity. Law enforcement officials warned the State Legislature that this type of police restriction legislation would increase violent crime, but they passed the new laws, anyway. Now we’re seeing an alarming increase in violent criminal activity and gang-related shootings are occurring in areas where they were rare. This situation will not improve and will escalate until our elected lawmakers at the State level give back the crime-fighting tools that were taken away from law enforcement professionals.
- KM August 15, 2022 (2:20 pm)
  
  Your argument confuses correlation with causation, and also ignores societal issues as part of the formula here (global pandemic, food and housing access, etc.) Taking law enforcement at their word is not proving to be a trustworthy exercise either!
- Jethro Marx August 15, 2022 (5:12 pm)
  
  You are parroting the same hysteria as the above poster going by “Gun Culture,” just from a different politician’s side of the nonsense aisle. We’re not going to gun-ban our way out of gun violence any more than we can legislate police officers into doing their job of law enforcement righteously.
- Mike August 16, 2022 (6:42 am)
  
  Crime has gained momentum due to letting officers leave because their unhappy also and tired of being put in spots with no back upDue to everything and this is why so JUDGES ARE TO BLAME , CITY officials are to blame Not police not sure if I sounded like an adult but seriously it’s common sense.And yes blame inflation/recession also so many things .
Mike August 15, 2022 (12:22 pm)

It’s fatiguing thinking people believe restrictions on people who don’t break laws will bring down violence. How about we lock up offenders, throw away the key and save lives. Illinois has some of the strictest gun laws in the country and the highest gun violence rates in the country. It’s not the inanimate object, it’s the people using them.
- Jort August 15, 2022 (2:15 pm)
  
  How about we lock up offenders, throw away the key and save lives.
  
  Because that’s barbaric and cruel? Because it’s the kind of thing that an authoritarian country would do? Throw away the key? Really? The United States has among the highest incarceration rates of any developed country on the planet — clearly that’s not solving anything, either. “Throw away the key…” do people even hear the words they’re saying, sometimes?
- Ben August 15, 2022 (6:28 pm)
  
  I agree. We have way too much sympathy for the criminals and not enough for the law-abiding citizens being terrorized. People who can’t or won’t follow the rules need to be sent away.
Seaside August 15, 2022 (1:15 pm)

How about policies that take criminals off the streets? Or, policies that have actual consequences for committing crimes of violence? There has been a 100% increase in shots fired since 2020 according to Seattle’s Chief of Police.
- T August 15, 2022 (6:46 pm)
  
  How about no plea deals on gun violence (use of a gun/carrying one while committing a felony, a felony having one). No bail for a felon in possession of a gun. A one time chance of a rehabilitation program if under 25 and full sentence reinstated if another crime committed.
WSDUDEMAN August 15, 2022 (1:41 pm)

Gun crimes are also out of control in areas where they are the most regulated. Chicago as a stand out example. It is not responsible firearm owners doing these things. It is my humble opinion that we need to avctually enforce laws and even change laws to deter such behavior. First offense using a gun during a crime? See you in 20 years. Shooting someone? See you in 30-40 years. Caught with an unregistered firearm? See you in 10 years. There is simple zero deterrence for these criminals. We recently had a convicted felon illegally possessing a gun found passed on in his car next to our house. He got out on $270 bail.
- Rhonda August 15, 2022 (11:47 pm)
  
  There’s no such thing as an “unregistered firearm” as firearms registration is illegal under federal law due to the FOPA Act.
- WS Res August 16, 2022 (9:05 am)
  
  Most of the guns in Chicago come from Indiana, where there are few if any restrictions.
2 cents August 15, 2022 (4:00 pm)

Get as many unlawfully owned guns out there as you can. Enforce the existing laws regarding stolen guns. Enforce and prosecute other crimes. Train LE in some practical considerations and tactics for them and us. Effective deployment of youth programs, positive role models, mentoring, etc. Deploy economic opportunities for all who want to work for it. Make these avenues abundant ! This a a step toward economic equity, those that fall under the”veil of ignorance” will not be left behind. There must be more mental health resources that reach the people that need it. Why not add a more diligent (caring) community. The homeless and addicted, help those that want to help them selves and don’t let up on the rest. I don’t see how else we are going to get there.

Mj August 15, 2022 (1:02 pm)

Today’s guns are a far cry from what existed in 1776.

Freda August 15, 2022 (2:19 pm)

Have guns changed since 2020? The violence has increased while the budget for police, and police staffing, has decreased. Gun restrictions have increased, now if we had somebody to enforce the laws.
- WS Res August 16, 2022 (9:06 am)
  
  How much did the budget for police in Seattle decrease?
- Sam August 16, 2022 (1:25 pm)
  
  The violence has increased while income inequality has increased. There’s no data indicating that more police and more enforcement leads to less crime. There is, however, data that shows how financial security (i.e. access to jobs with living wages and social safety nets) is directly related to crime. When jobs and wages — or the lack of them — leave people financially insecure, crime rates rise.https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/06/07/the-stark-relationship-between-income-inequality-and-crime
M August 15, 2022 (3:32 pm)

A fair point, not sure if the reasons for 2A have changed?
MW August 15, 2022 (3:59 pm)

Everything including today’s bloated government bureaucracy is a far cry from what existed in 1776. Just sayin. Why pick on guns? Why not compare the laws in 1776 and their methods of dealing with criminals. That era’s society is a far cry from today’s liberal leniency. Most of todays criminals would be LONG dead in the 1700-1800s, even most of the 1900s. My dad and his classmates took rifles to school in the 1950s with zero school gun violence ( just rabbits and small game shot for supper on the way home). (Outside Seattle, btw). Must have been a different kind of people, a different society with their criminal laws not watered down and without that persistent victim mentality that permeates today. Certainly the available guns were basically the same and even a .22 rifle in a young person’s hands could easily have been used against a human. So, how do today’s crime stats compare to that era?

marcus August 15, 2022 (2:09 pm)

it is all about our politicians both city counsel, county and other municipalities. Not necessarily about laws but much greater degree about the apprehension of these thugs. these guys see a free gateway to crime because our city leaders failed us in the past 5-10 years. Again this is what we get with the “defund the police crowd” and that includes various members in the city counsel who have failed to do the most basic responsibility to protect the public. this has nothing to do with social conscious, or disparity, or equality. there is law and justice however I am not seeing the law at its full ability and I am certainly not see the justice for all the honest, law abiding, hard working people in Seattle.

Jort August 15, 2022 (10:38 pm)

How much were the Seattle Police defunded?

DAVID August 15, 2022 (2:56 pm)

Wasn’t a black mercedes also involved in a road rage shooting last week or so?

Gun Culture August 15, 2022 (4:28 pm)

If only Washington and Illinois were the only states that sold firearms and if only guns were never stolen, we’d be most of the way to a solution. Law abiding gun owners shouldn’t mind longer waiting periods or other mild inconveniences to purchase their guns if doing so resulted in even one fewer innocent person shot dead, so please spare us the tired tropes about restrictions on people who don’t break laws and that people, not guns, shoot people because guns absolutely DO kill and injure. Right on, MJ. And your run-of-the-mill gun owner is not part of a “well regulated militia,” which is what the 2nd Amendment protects. Appreciate the insights on policy and enforcement – both are also important parts to reasonable solutions and obviously it’s time for new thinking around those as well.

Chuck Jacobs August 17, 2022 (7:56 am)

(a)The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

Joan August 15, 2022 (5:04 pm)

It’s like the wild west here now. Sure could use a good sheriff, or two, or a hundred.

1994 August 15, 2022 (9:01 pm)

Agreed. But none that belong to this nutty organization: The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association

MM August 15, 2022 (7:26 pm)

Big picture is it’s Good against Evil. In the end Good will win. Sin is the overall problem.

Fauntleroy Resident August 15, 2022 (8:09 pm)

The decrease in enforcement of laws and the decriminalizing of drug usage/procession in Seattle has increased gang activity throughout the city. The gangs are supplying the drugs and fighting for territories, new gangs are coming up to the area primarily from California. Do anyone really think gang members legally own their guns? They don’t…punishing legal gun owners does nothing! The drug users steal to support their habits and the influx of drugs keeps growing and so will the violence.

Ed D August 15, 2022 (9:25 pm)

Who are they stealing guns from?
Derek August 16, 2022 (6:56 am)

Correlation does not equal causation here. Many legal drug users are fine citizens. Do not lump us in with your reasons du jour of crime.
Jeff August 16, 2022 (10:05 am)

Correlation does not equal causation. This is dangerous thinking and logic. More cops do not fix any problems. You call 911 after the crime. Crime exists because of the socioeconomic issues deeply rooted in this capitalistic system. Got to fix that with a UBI, cheaper housing, better quality of life so people don’t turn to drugs and gangs. But ya’ll seem to not be ready for that conversation…
- Charles August 16, 2022 (3:18 pm)
  
  UBI would just cause inflation and price increases on everything, since sellers would know that everyone now has X amount of dollars more.

marcus August 17, 2022 (7:29 am)

seattle times reports that the city council signed onto Harrell’s police hiring incentavie plan. this is great news. the PD has lost 460 officers in the past 3 years. however of course, the rise in crime, gun play and general speed racers was totally supported by Tammy Morales, Teresa Mosqueda and Kshama Sawant who voted against the bill. go figure! Herbold sponsored the bill which indicates a good move on her part. She did the right thing however I am surprized she broke with the 3 public safety loathers. Seattle is indeed heading in the correct direction, still going to take a lot of time, but we are indeed turning this around. Still I am going to seriously support voting Herbold out of office depending upon the rival.

Sorry, comment time is over.