WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Assault on the street

| Crime | West Seattle news

Reader report from an incident around 2:30 pm:

Just got assaulted in front of CVS by two teenagers. Cops were called by multiple witnesses. They were repeatedly yelling the n word at 3 of us, and then the woman hit one of us in the back of the head as we tried to walk away. A witness followed them to the nursery, where they swapped clothes and then ran through the alley off Brandon.

They say police did not respond “despite multiple 911 calls” but the assault victim is filing a report.

ADDED: The report number is 26-160207.

West Seattleite June 5, 2026 (4:13 pm)

Genuinely curious what the entirety of the south precinct is doing so that not one officer can respond to an assault in progress call like this? Seems the police only show up for shootings and even then, often too late to catch the perpetrator.

WSB June 5, 2026 (5:15 pm)

We are in the SW Precinct, not the South. And no, they don’t “only show up for shootings.” If you follow an entire day’s dispatches, domestic violence tends to be high on the list, also people in crisis (including those reported to be suicidal, possibly in possession of a weapon, which requires extra backup); shoplifting is fairly frequent, traffic hazards and collisions; right this moment there’s a dog bite near Admiral Starbucks … I was away from the desk for a short time when this came in via text, and not everything is dispatched over the air, so I can’t even guess why there wouldn’t have been a response. Sometimes it’s even in the way a crime is reported – a burglary in which the burglar(s) are reported to be long gone is a lower priority than “a burglary happening right now” …
- oerthehillz June 5, 2026 (9:49 pm)
  
  These are the same idiots driving around shouting the same verbiage from a white car. I believe that was recently mentioned in another post.

Kristina June 5, 2026 (4:27 pm)

That’s near my home and I’m horrified that that happened to you. The assault is horrifying, the racial slur is horrifying, and I’m really sad that the police didn’t come. It sounds like some neighbors stood up with you and tried to help and I’m glad for that.

Derek June 5, 2026 (4:37 pm)

If they assaulted while yelling slurs, is that not a textbook hate crime?

B June 7, 2026 (11:57 am)

Yup that’s a hate crime!

WSRob June 5, 2026 (4:44 pm)

I’m heading that way. I hope I find them before the police.

Huh? June 5, 2026 (5:18 pm)

Assaulted by teenagers, but a woman hit her in the back?

AN June 5, 2026 (11:02 pm)

A person can be a teenager and also a woman at the same time. Huh.
Ttt June 7, 2026 (1:42 pm)

“Teen” is someone under 20. Woman means female presenting, often 18 or above. Sometimes it’s all a guess and sometimes it’s done to paint someone in a certain light. Ie “old enough to know better” or “old enough to be tried as an adult”

Marcus June 5, 2026 (5:49 pm)

What this is telling me is that we are severely understaffed at SPD. Why is there not cry’s from Seattle citizens to up the police presence. Very easy to criticize the SPD for actions not taken yet the average Seattle resident has no clue how busy they are. Remember Seattle turned its back on the SPD through electing council members and majors over the last decade or so. This is what we get! Cannot deem the SPD as bad guys or not needed and then suddenly realize how stupid that was and then criticize them for not being just around the corner when needed.

K.S. June 5, 2026 (6:00 pm)

BINGO! Miss the old days on Alki when police vans and cars where ALWAYS present. And you would get pulled over for speeding. Always felt safe.
22blades June 5, 2026 (6:35 pm)

Marcus, I disagree with your prioritization. It may have been chance that this assault didn’t end worse. I think even the SPD would disagree with your take on assaults & their priority. If something fell through the cracks, it needs fixing. Don’t make this into a political diatribe. Our fellow neighbors were assaulted. They deserve protection & justice.I have called in assaults. The SPD reacted in truly stunning speed.
bill June 5, 2026 (6:52 pm)

SPD earned its bad reputation over the years for tolerating bad cops and good riddance to the ones who quit because we don’t tolerate licensed thuggery anymore. I hope the large number of open positions indicates the city is not hiring people who want to power trip with a badge and a gun.
Lauren June 5, 2026 (7:46 pm)

That is one reading of the situation. Another is that cops aren’t actually a proactive/preventative crime response. They’re reactive. They don’t prevent crime. Many studies show this (recommend “The End of Policing if anyone’s genuinely curious to learn more).
- aa June 6, 2026 (6:38 am)
  
  I wonder if the idea that police ‘prevent crime’ is an accurate assumption. Outside of educational safety programs and other community projects it seems to me that they mostly respond to crimes. So is expecting them to prevent crimes an unfair expectation?
Pete June 6, 2026 (8:24 am)

A timeline of Seattle’s safety trends shows:
- 1988: Seattle experienced a major crime peak with 72,694 reported offenses. [1]
- 2012: This year recorded the lowest level of major crimes in decades. The city was notably peaceful, with lower rates of property and violent crime. [1, 2, 3]
- 2014–2019: Violent crime rates remained relatively low and stable, though concerns over public drug use and property theft began increasing in areas like downtown. [1, 2]
- 2020–2022: A combination of pandemic-related disruptions, civil unrest, and a subsequent exodus of police officers caused crime to spike and perceptions of safety to nosedive. [1]
- 2025–2026: Public safety interventions led to dramatic improvements. In 2025, overall crime fell by 18% citywide and homicides dropped by 36%, bringing violent crime in downtown Seattle to its lowest level since 2017. [1, 2, 3]
Pete June 6, 2026 (8:28 am)

So much of the discourse on crime is perception driven, rather than fact driven. Seattle is way safer now than in the 80’s and 90’s
Seattlite June 6, 2026 (2:48 pm)

Marcus…I agree with your comment. Believe it or not, there are people in Seattle who do not know that Seattle has had a police officer shortage for approximately five years or so.
- Simmer June 6, 2026 (3:54 pm)
  
  I wonder if the constant sexism, harassment, and retaliation scandals in the dept might be impacting retention and recruitment? Nah, it must be the fault of the public.
WS98 June 6, 2026 (5:14 pm)

I’m really sorry this happened, I hope they catch the teens. @marcus – Seattle didn’t turn it’s back on SPD, defunding is a myth and literally NO ONE is saying they’re not needed. On the contrary, the city has been fighting to reel the department in over multiple policing issues for years. There are many reported examples – unconstitutional use of force (BLM, Cal Anderson, WTO, racial discrimination, queer phobia, xenophobia, misogyny, fraud, openly MAGA ideologies, toxic leadership. One of the biggest understaffing reasons is an aging workforce. A recent OIG audit stated 80% of officers eligible to retire are unavailable for weeks or months while they burn through accrued sick leave (median is 226 days AND they continue to accrue retirement benefits). After that, they cash out on weeks of vacation days they hoard before quitting. Per the report, this is costing the city around $4MIL per year. Imagine all of the officers SPD could hire every year instead.

Alki resident June 5, 2026 (6:15 pm)

With FIFA coming, good luck getting police to respond to anything at all. I hope someone followed those kids in their car to see where they ended up.

B June 5, 2026 (9:22 pm)

Police departments in major cities across the country are understaffed. In my opinion, not nearly enough people are drawn to the occupation anymore, probably because police officers in general were demonized following the George Floyd murder. The baby went out with the bathwater.

Pete June 6, 2026 (8:42 am)

Oh come on. If the police simply fired the officers who couldn’t behave, we wouldn’t be in this mess. The phrase is “a rotten apple spoils the barrel.” So “it’s just one rotten apple” really is the problem. It’s an institution that desperately needs root and branch reform. I shouldn’t be reading about cops with a laundry list of infractions and abusive behaviour who are somehow still employed. Just look at who the police elect to lead their fraternal orders. Yikes.
- Actualperson June 6, 2026 (10:39 am)
  
  Pete. Do you preach “just fire the bad ones” to the firemen;doctors;surgeons;lawyers;Boeing workers;tech workers;etc;etc who are “bad apples”? And PLEASE don’t pretend that any of those people can’t cause serious or irreparable harm.
  - K June 6, 2026 (9:15 pm)
    
    Yes, absolutely they should be fired. Is this a serious question?
- B June 6, 2026 (11:27 am)
  
  I 100% agree that bad cops should be fired. As a strong union member myself for many years, I am disgusted by the actions of the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild. Their protection of criminal cops gives unions in general a bad name, and endangers the public.
  
  But just because some cops are bad does not mean that all of them are bad. I personally believe that the vast majority of them are serving for the right reasons. The Guild should be demonized, not the police in general. It is hard to draw honorable people to a job that so many in the public portray as a dishonorble profession.

Ron June 5, 2026 (10:10 pm)

This is unacceptable. We need the police to respond in a timely manner when you call 911.

WSResident June 6, 2026 (2:34 am)

Funny. Around 3:05, was driving south on California south of admiral junction and noted to my spouse that it appeared there was a police officer in his car who appeared to just be chilling and texting. And after I made a comment about draining city resources by sitting around in cars and texting, I also tried to give them the benefit of the doubt that they were on break. Police not showing up for an instance like this is unacceptable.

Littlebrowndog June 6, 2026 (8:40 am)

In a WS group on Facebook yesterday afternoon somebody posted a picture of these same 2 people in Morgan Junction also yelling the n word at people.

Gerry June 6, 2026 (9:18 am)

Understaffing is obviously a huge problem. Also: hostility to police; and the majority of good officers tolerating bad behavior among their lesser colleagues. I think it has been called the Blue Wall of Silence or something similar.

Ann June 6, 2026 (10:57 am)

If any of the people this happened to are on here, can you please tell us more about what happened (I am SO SORRY this happened to you- horrifying). Was this completely random? Had there been an altercation? What was the race of the teenagers if you can tell (I am so glad you have a partial photo to submit with your report). I hope you are all ok except for the mental anguish. This is so awful. Let us know if there is anything we can do.

Shadowtripper June 6, 2026 (10:15 pm)

A strong police presence on our street in the Admiral and Alaska Junction would go a long way in shutting down crime. Whatever happened to the cop with a night stick walking a beat, checking in on business’ and improving neighborhoods with trust. Perhaps a couple of bicycle officers on Alki and more radar ticketing on our streets. Heck may as well start enforcing outdated license tabs by the parking police. Just thinking.

mary June 7, 2026 (7:32 pm)

I know who this is and where they live. How do I report it?

Canton June 8, 2026 (1:20 am)

Call the police, and reference report # 26-160207. They will be happy to get a lead…
KBear June 8, 2026 (8:00 am)

Mary, the case number is in the article.

HarloweRayne Thunderword-Cohen June 11, 2026 (9:11 pm)

I am so sorry you’ve experienced such awful mistreatment. Those feral rats lack civility and proper discipline. They will eventually run into someone like myself, who will knock some respect and civility into them. The first time I was ever called a “n****r was 2016 in downtown Seattle. I have experienced so much racism here. That is saying a lot because not even in the deep south was I ever called a “n****r!” When it comes to hate-filled jerks, I DON’T bother calling the law, I handle it myself! So, I have no qualms about knocking the hate out of those idiots! I LIVED through Jim Crow, and I will not tolerate racist idiots.

Sorry, comment time is over.