ORIGINAL SUNDAY NIGHT REPORT: Three Crime Watch reports from the weekend:
(Reader photo)
DEADLY SHOOTING IN WHITE CENTER: Since our initial report on partner site White Center Now this morning, King County Sheriff’s Deputies have confirmed that one of the two men shot after midnight near 16th/98th has died. A 23-year-old man is in jail for investigation of murder and assault. KCSO investigators believe it started when an allegedly drunk driver hit a parked car; the ensuing confrontation ended in gunfire. They say the suspected shooter is “an associate” of the alleged drunk driver, who was cited for suspected DUI. They have not said which of the victims was the struck car’s owner. We hope to get more information tomorrow when the suspect is likely to have a bail hearing.
Now, two West Seattle incidents for which police have released initial summaries:
GUNFIRE INVESTIGATION: SPD says this was reported at 4 am Saturday:
Officers responded to a 911 call regarding a report of shots fired in the parking lot in the area of 1900 blk of Harbor Ave. SW. Upon arrival, they located a vacant vehicle hanging off the edge of the dock. The vehicle was unoccupied. During the course of their investigation, shell casings were located at the scene and collected as evidence. Officers determined the vehicle was stolen and impounded [it] at the request of the Robbery Unit. According to a witness, the vehicle was seen doing donuts in the parking lot shortly before backing through the chain-link fence and coming to a stop on the edge of the pier. No suspects were located at the time of this call. The vehicle was impounded. The SPD Harbor Unit along with the United States Coast Guard and Port of Seattle PD responded to the scene to conduct an area check of the waterway.
If you have any information, the SPD incident # is 25-203472.
CARJACKING: SPD says this was reported after 11:30 pm Friday:
The victim was parked at the 3000 block of 44 Ave SW and about to pull out of a parking spot. A sedan pulled up next to him and the passenger exited wearing a mask. S#1 (Suspect #1) put the victim at gunpoint and demanded his cell phone. S#1 then demanded that the victim exit his vehicle. S#1 grabbed the victim and threw him to the ground. S#1 entered the victim’s vehicle and left Southbound on 44 Ave SW. S#2, who was driving the sedan, drove away in the same direction. The victim had visible injuries from the incident. Officers conducted an area check, but the suspects weren’t located.
The summary had no descriptions of the carjacker or of the stolen and suspect vehicles; we’ll be seeking those along with the report narrative when it’s available. Meantime, this incident # is 25-203304.
ADDED MONDAY AFTERNOON, RE: CARJACKING: We obtained the police-report narrative. It says the initial call came from an apartment building in the 3000 block of California SW. The victim was parked on 44th SW, facing northbound (the report does not say exactly where on 44th), pulling out, when a gray Kia Soul pulled up in front of his vehicle, blocking him from leaving. A passenger got out of the car, the victim told police, pointed a black handgun at him, yelled for him to “get out of the car,” and then grabbed the victim and threw him to the ground when he opened the door. The victim told police he said “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me” and then the robber demanded his cellphone, which the victim said he didn’t have on him; the robber then got in the victim’s car, described only as a CR-V with California plates, and drove it away southbound on 44th, with the Kia Soul also heading that way, both then turning left on SW Hanford. Both the driver and the robber were described as Black, male, mid-20s; the robber was wearing a ski mask.
Turns out the car in that incident is the same stolen car later found abandoned by Salty’s after the gunfire incident mentioned earlier in this story. We’re adding info from that narrative next.
ADDED MONDAY AFTERNOON, RE: GUNFIRE/STOLEN CAR: As mentioned above, the car abandoned in this incident was the same one stolen in the carjacking several hours earlier, described in this report as a black 2025 Honda CR-V with California plates. Here’s what we learned after obtaining the narrative today:
Police were dispatched a report of gunfire in the Salty’s parking lot at 1936 Harbor SW. dispatched to a shooting in the parking lot of Salty’s restaurant at 1936 Harbor Ave SW. They were told a black SUV might be involved. Then came the update that a black SUV was “located near the water in Salty’s parking lot and hanging off a dock.” They went there and called for backup in case armed suspects were inside. The report notes:
The vehicle that was being called out was on the north side of the parking lot on raised wooden posts. Per a Salty’s employee, this location used to be a helipad and was on private property. The car had reversed onto the wood slats and was stuck on the far edge about to fall into the water. The fence blocking people from reaching the area of the helipad was run over and dragged onto the wooden slats by the vehicle.
Eventually it was determined no one was inside. The report continues:
The parking lot of Salty’s had rubber tire marks that went back and forth in the lot and in circles. There were indications that one or more vehicles were doing burnouts and driving recklessly prior to our arrival. There were also tire marks that led toward the Honda stuck above the water.
Seattle Fire Rescue 1 arrived on scene at 0422 hours and stated that we needed to accompany them to clear the vehicle first before they attempt to get it onto concrete. There was no safe and feasible way for this to be done. SFD put wood planks and ladders down to reach the vehicle.
The first tow truck on scene wasn’t able to retrieve the vehicle “from the dangerous and compromised location where it stood,” the report said. Meantime, SPD’s Harbor Unit, US Coast Guard, and port police all searched the water to be sure no one had gone in. Officers checked the scene multiple times for gunfire evidence and finally “found a spent 9MM shell casing on the SW corner of the gravel lot directly east to Salty’s parking lot. The spent casing was found near the brush and lamp post.” The report also says some fuel from the CR-V’s punctured tank spilled onto the water. A second tow truck arrived and was able to get the vehicle fully onto land for impounding. One other note: “There was also a large rock found on the floor of the driver’s side. This was an indication that the occupants may have placed the rock on the accelerator after doing the burnouts and reversed the vehicle, attempting to send it into the water below. There was also a pair of earplugs on the front passenger seat.” Later, the report says, officers “found a second 9MM spent case about two feet away from where the first one was located.” And before they left, they “put up caution tape on the area of the parking lot where the fence was struck down. It was exposed to the wooden planks and water, so we felt it was necessary to put the tape up as a precaution.” The report does not include any information on possible suspects but said police might be able to get surveillance video from the restaurant after they opened at midday Sunday.
Yes, we should still push for more and better ways to improve public safety. One violent crime is one too many. But to say it’s the worse it’s ever been is simply not supported by the data.
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