WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 1 person shot on Harbor Avenue, after gunfire on Beach Drive

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

12:46 AM: Police are arriving in the 1100 block of Harbor Avenue, where a man is reported to have been shot in the leg. The four suspects are said to have fled southbound on Harbor in a black Acura MDX with no plates and tinted windows. Police are investigating whether this is related to a report that someone was shot at on Beach Drive by a black SUV with four people inside.

(Reader photo via text, Harbor Avenue scene)

12:49 AM: Officers just told dispatch they have found several casings at the Harbor Avenue scene. They’re closing the street in both directions while they investigate.

(Reader photo via text, Harbor Avenue scene)

12:53 AM: Police told dispatch they now do believe the two are related. The black Acura is reported to have one headlight out. Officers say they’ve found 23 casings; SFD is treating the injured person, who they say has “minor injuries to the ankle.” The Beach Drive gunfire location, meantime, is described as near Andover.

1:04 AM: Officers investigating the Beach Drive report say they’ve found one casing so far, in the 4000 block. … Minutes later, a second one near Carroll (Weather Watch Park cross-street).

1:24 AM: Now the Beach Drive investigation is “up to five casings.” Meantime, the Harbor Avenue victim is reported to have had injuries so relatively minor that he declined to be taken to a hospital.

ADDED MONDAY: SPD summarized the incident on its SPD Blotter website over the weekend. As we noted in a followup mention Friday in our report on the Alki Community Council’s meeting, it appears the one person who was injured was shot after a traffic-related dispute.

Nightowl May 15, 2024 (1:03 am)

I’m at 35th and Fauntleroy and heard 4 distinct shots. Two slightly spaced apart, followed by two more in quick succession. I started hearing sirens less than two minutes later, and I believe I’m too far away from 1100 Harbor for that event to have been what I heard. Sounds like they’re on a spree…

WiseWoman May 15, 2024 (1:11 am)

Well the police need to have a presence on Alki and Beach Drive as well as Admiral California 35th and Delridge and they need to be driving around these areas and respond within their area instead of all 5/6/7 officers always going to the same calls. It needs parsed out until its known. Obviously you need 2-3 officers on scene at any incident where its more than one citizen but I think their structure how they respond needs overhauling completely.

R May 15, 2024 (1:30 am)

Step 0: find more police officers. SPD absolutely does not have the manpower to make you as safe as you want to feel. The idea in your comment would be a stretch even in a city with a strong police presence.
Mel May 15, 2024 (5:31 am)

Um yeah they aren’t just going to be showing up to an active scene with one officer. Not happening.
Alki resident May 15, 2024 (7:31 am)

We are short staffed. Police go to call after call all day long. They close the beach by 11, this was almost midnight. They can’t be everywhere an incident takes place. There are many apartment and condo residents with cameras facing the road on Alki and Harbor Ave that likely picked up the car movement.
Alki kid May 15, 2024 (7:40 am)

The Seattle Police Department has lost more than 700 officers in the past few years & is at its lowest staffing level since the 1990s. Currently, the department has only 913 actively working police officers. That’s not enough for the dramatic rise in criminal activity to have officers in all the places we need them to be.
Anne May 15, 2024 (7:46 am)

Have you been paying attention to the fact SPD is understaffed – there’s been a huge hiring push- that it could be a few years until they’re fully staffed? Even then – don’t count on ever having enough officers to be everywhere you’d like them to be.

Jim May 15, 2024 (1:15 am)

“no plates and tinted windows” this is why speed cameras in the area would be absolutely useless

drahcir61 May 15, 2024 (8:02 am)

Speed cameras are not specifically meant to catch, “no plates and tinted windows” … hence the name “speed cameras” & not “no plates and tinted windows cameras”.

Speed cameras provide a deterrent to speeding, same with cameras at intersections … you run the light, you speed in the wrong area & you get an expensive prize in the mail … congrats!
- GetReal May 15, 2024 (10:10 am)
  
  And who does the city send the infraction to if the vehicle cannot be identified from photos?Criminals are going to do criminal things, whether a camera present or not. There is no physical impediment/threat from a piece of technology that probably wont work correctly 70% of the time.Law enforcement needs to be present and permitted to do their job- ie chase these guys.
- Jay May 15, 2024 (10:37 am)
  
  To enforce a camera ticket you need a picture of the license plate and driver. Street racers and criminals take the plates off and put a 5% tint on all the windows including the windshield. There’s no deterrent for people who can’t be identified.
TAnderson May 15, 2024 (5:21 pm)

This has nothing to do with speed cameras. Speed cameras are necessary to stop the dangerous and excessive speed that exists on Alki and Harbor avenues and , no, they wouldn’t stop a car without a license plate engaged in some sort of gun battle from occurring. Neither would more police who can never be in all places at all times. It makes no sense to poo poo a strategy (speed cameras) that don’t solve 100% of every problem we might have.

Neighbor May 15, 2024 (1:24 am)

Without knowing about the shootings, I saw the MDX heading south driving +50mph. Right in front of the 7 Eleven. There was a police car across the street (with an officer inside) and I was sure they would do a traffic stop because of how fast they were going. Obviously they didn’t. It makes me wonder what they are even doing there.

Jim May 15, 2024 (1:41 am)

Was there anyone in the police car? Could they have been inside the 7-Eleven grabbing a coffee and something to eat?
- Neighbor May 15, 2024 (2:07 am)
  
  No. It was parked across the 7 eleven at the chain link gate to the parking lot. The police car’s blue light was on. I thought it was a speed trap.
Sandyshores May 15, 2024 (9:44 am)

It’s quite likely, the police were taking information from dispatch. Also we don’t have enough police officers for them to do Traffic. The police here are very shorthanded and are focusing on crime not Traffic..
wetone May 15, 2024 (9:59 am)

This is what I’ve seen from Seattle SPD related to no plates, covered plates, illegal window tinting, most speeding, dangerous driving issues, and drug use. SPD will rarely make traffic stops. This is directly related to the politics and given direction from/within Seattle government. No matter what they pay officers, Seattle’s losing a huge percentage of applicants due to the political scene here. We have less officers today than we had in early 1960’s…. Seattle’s leadership mentality today is pushing for speed bumps, cameras, road diets, street closures, replacing roadways with bike lanes, signage, bollards………. it’s all a feel goodie smoke screen for the need of more police officers. Lawbreakers could care less about all those mentioned. City will continue downhill slide with this thinking. Until SPD is able to enforce laws to ALL, and not worry about the outcome numbers it will only get worse ;(

R May 15, 2024 (1:25 am)

As always appreciate the prompt reporting. I hear what sounds like a helicopter up near Alki, possibly related?

WSB May 15, 2024 (1:29 am)

No, Guardian One’s not in service tonight, so it’s not related to this. No helicopters on radar at all.
- John May 15, 2024 (1:42 am)
  
  Is it undergoing maintenance or something? I was walking around downtown Seattle earlier and saw it circle over several times almost like they were doing some kind of training or something
  - WSB May 15, 2024 (1:56 am)
    
    No, they just don’t fly every day/night. Helicopters are very costly to operate. They might have been up earlier in the day and then off tonight. I just happened to hear them say during the RV call earlier, when officers asked dispatch to check if G-1 was up tonight, the response was that it wasn’t (isn’t).
    - John May 15, 2024 (2:07 am)
      
      Okay thank you for the clarification I just wasn’t sure if there was something specific where it couldn’t operate tonight

Cary May 15, 2024 (1:39 am)

Are the police afraid to respond ? Because they might get killed in response. Think about that if it were you

Dog Whisperer May 17, 2024 (12:24 pm)

We knew when half our police force quit that we’d suffer in our neighborhoods. And we let it happen anyway.

Svenry May 15, 2024 (8:11 am)

We’re near Weather Watch park and heard around 7 shots. We didn’t hear any shouting/screaming, so I’m not sure if they were aiming at people or just firing at random. I’m often at that park late at night to take photos and/or stargaze and have always felt generally safe, so this is obviously alarming. It’s my first time hearing gun shots since moving to Alki two years ago. Thanks, WSB, for the report. It’s good to have confirmation and additional context.

Alphabot May 15, 2024 (12:24 pm)

I heard the gunshots and my windows are single paned so I also heard yelling. Two or more people someone (male) clearly yelled, “Vato!” and “f^#* you” as well as some indistinguishable yelling (angry). I saw a newer model white sedan heading very fast around the Duwamish head toward Alki beach area immediately after the gunfire ceased. The white sedan had a smaller sporty car following just as fast behind it. The timing and the speed they were traveling are the only things that make me think these vehicles may have been related to the incident.
- Alphabot May 15, 2024 (12:47 pm)
  
  Note: I heard closer to 30 shots in total (probably less) and it sounded like they were coming from two different places or possibly different firearms.
- Jaye May 15, 2024 (6:11 pm)
  
  “Vato” is a Spanish term that means “guy” or “dude.” It is often used as a slang term to refer to a man or boy, particularly among Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. And we know what “F-ck you” means. : (

Rhonda May 15, 2024 (1:04 pm)

In 24 days, starting at midnight, law enforcement across the entire State will again be able to pursue stolen vehicles, speeders, and vehicles without license plates like the Acura involved in these shootings. But as of now, that Plateless black MDX could have driven in front of a dozen patrol cars from Federal Way to Alki and there’s nothing any officers can do about it.

WSB May 15, 2024 (2:21 pm)

Absolutely NOT true. They can pursue, and have pursued, shooting suspects – that’s a violent crime. In this case absent going back and listening to the audio again, which I do not have the time to do, I would speculate this is a hindsight thing. The Beach Drive gunfire, which happened first, was initially attributed to a Highlander. It wasn’t until later, and more witness interviews, that they deduced the same vehicle was involved in both, and that it had a burned-out headlight. Anyway, they can and do pursue shooting suspects; SPD has some stringent rules that go beyond the state in some cases, entirely self-imposed; we’ve linked their pursuit manual here before. – TR
- WestSeattleBadTakes May 15, 2024 (11:39 pm)
  
  No… Rhonda spreading misinformation or straight up lying? I don’t believe it. 🤥
  - Rhonda May 16, 2024 (2:18 pm)
    
    WestSeattleBadTakes, it’s now 23 days until law enforcement officers in this State can pursue stolen vehicles and vehicles without license plates. Please do some research before you respond to a factual post.

dhg May 15, 2024 (5:28 pm)

I am increasingly alarmed by the growing number of plateless cars, followed by dark tinted covers that hide the plate, and bike racks with no bikes but effectively blocking the plate. As for front plates, about 10% of all cars have no front plate. Lawless times.

Jethro Marx May 16, 2024 (7:44 am)

“Tell us about the 20s again, grandpa.”
“They were LAWLESS times kids, at levels no one’s ever seen before. Some cars DIDN’T EVEN HAVE FRONT PLATES!!!”
“Wow how did you guys make it out alive?”
- Marcus May 16, 2024 (3:30 pm)
  
  Hey Jethro, ease up on djg. No need to be rude and degrading. The person is speaking their mind and does have a reasonable comment. Stolen cars with switched plates are common. WSB maybe that comment did not need to be published.
  - Jethro Marx May 16, 2024 (11:08 pm)
    
    I don’t have any interest in degrading dhg or any other person but I suppose I am interested in irreverent and occasionally dumb humor while many aren’t. I did poke fun at dhg’s use of license plate hijinks of one kind or another as evidence of these lawless times. If you think about what ‘lawless’ means I think you will find it’s quite different from what we have. I also don’t like people shooting guns randomly or at each other in our neighborhoods, and I assume that sentiment is shared by just about everyone in West Seattle.
    - Byron James May 16, 2024 (11:46 pm)
      
      You should try actually being humorous sometime.
    - Marcus May 17, 2024 (1:47 am)
      
      I think we agree on most everything you mentioned except the additional dig of “dumb humor”.

Dog Whisperer May 17, 2024 (12:25 pm)

Much humor is dumb. That’s why it’s funny.

Neighbor May 19, 2024 (9:47 am)

Never seen so many unmarked /unplated cars as in Seattle. It seems common to see them nearly every day.What’s the deal? Is it not necessary to have a license plated in Seattle?

AlkiD May 20, 2024 (6:35 am)

According to KIRO:

Beach Drive: According to officers, a 27-year-old man was being followed by suspects “brandishing guns” as he was driving home. When he tried to evade them, his vehicle was shot at. The suspects fled and were not found, but police did find multiple shell casings at the scene.

Harbor Ave: Officers found a 42-year-old man with a bullet wound in his foot. Police found several shell casings at the scene of this shooting as well, determining the suspect vehicle was following and weaving in front of the man’s car before he confronted them. The suspects shot at the man and then ran off and were not found.