West Seattle, Washington
27 Tuesday
(Added: Photo of containers, courtesy Clayton LaPlant)
Thanks for the inquiries about the helicopters over the north end of the Duwamish River. They were TV choppers checking out an incident about which we have just obtained information. A spokesperson for Matson tells WSB:
Two shipping containers – both empty – were knocked into the water this afternoon at Port of Seattle T-5 during discharge (unloading) of our vessel Mahimahi.
No injuries and no reports of damage. We’re working on recovering the containers now. Vessel operations/schedule were unaffected and apparently no impact on waterway navigation / harbor ops.
(WSB photo: Matson’s Mahimahi, photographed from westbound West Seattle “low bridge” this afternoon)
Matson moved its weekly Seattle calls to T-5 back in April as an interim tenant while the terminal modernization project gets going. (Speaking of which, tomorrow is the Jack Block Park open house for info about the project, 9:30-11:30 am Saturday.)
10:11 PM: Guardian One has been helping with a police search just north of The Triangle. One person is reported to be in custody but we don’t yet know what led to the search.
10:40 PM: Still trying to find officer(s) on the ground to ask. We’ve found police cars but no officers in sight.
10:45 PM: Talked to an officer. He said this was called in as an attempted burglary. (When we first heard radio exchanges, police were pursuing a suspect through yards, then took someone into custody.)
Thanks to Byron and Marty for the tips and photos. We’ve confirmed with Washington State Ferries what citywide media first reported: A helicopter search in Elliott Bay followed a ferry apparently striking a whale. A WSF spokesperson tells us it happened just a few minutes after the M/V Wenatchee’s departure from downtown, bound for Bainbridge Island. Passengers saw what they believed was a gray whale surface just a few feet from the bow – too close for the ferry to avoid hitting it. The spokesperson says as far as she knows, no one felt the collision – the witnesses got word to the crew. The ferry continued on to Bainbridge Island; the U.S. Coast Guard searched for the whale, which wasn’t seen again:
(The ferry in this photo is NOT the Wenatchee)
The WSF spokesperson says the USCG thinks it might have spotted something near Pier 66 but darkness has complicated the search. No whales – gray or otherwise – had been reported in the area earlier, so that’s made this a bit of a mystery. WSF has, meantime, also notified NOAA.
11:45 PM: If you hear the Guardian One law-enforcement helicopter over Highland Park/Riverview and/or see police on the ground, here’s what the search is about, per radio dispatch: 911 got reports of possible gunfire, heard near 12th/Holden, followed by a potentially related hit and run, and someone seen running eastbound in an alley south of Holden. Guardian One heard the dispatch and offered to help. No injuries reported.
11:57 PM: Though the helicopter has moved on for now, police are blocking part of SW Holden as they investigate.
12:05 AM: A texter sent this photo:
12:10 PM: Police are reopening SW Holden.
(WSB photo)
8:51 PM: Police are investigating gunfire in The Junction. First they got a report three men were seen “firing a gun” near 44th/Edmunds; now they’re investigating gunshot damage reported to a car. One suspect is reported to have been seen running north on 44th. More to come.
8:56 PM: Police have found a gun in a dumpster behind the west side of the 4700 block of California after a tip. … Now there’s a report one person might be injured “by shrapnel.” Also, Guardian One is helping with the search, and police say they’ve found shell casings. … Police have been told that some suspects might have left the area in a “gray sedan with a burned-out headlight.” They’re also going to block traffic at California/Edmunds.
9:08 PM: Police have told dispatch they’ve found “nine .40 millimeter casings” so far.
9:15 PM: A K9 team is helping search.
9:29 PM: Our crew says police are about to reopen the streets. The air and K9 searches have both dead-ended.
10:21 PM: No further information so far. We’ll be requesting the incident report tomorrow.
ADDED 12:24 PM FRIDAY: Here’s what we’ve learned from police: A 17-year-old saw a car circling his Junction-area house with occupants he suspected were involved in a recent robbery of a relative. He went out and drove after them. He then noticed “a group of males” standing on the corner of 44th/Edmunds and he said someone in that group fired at the car – he reported seeing the muzzle flash, though not the gun, and said bullets hit the driver-side door. Police later found four bullet holes in that door, and nine shell casings in the street at 44th/Edmunds. The group ran northbound; he described them as “five to eight high-school-aged black males, 5’10” to 6″, all but one wearing black hoodies.” He said he suspected they were associated with the vehicle he had been following, described as “a silver sedan with a left taillight out.” A nearby resident, meantime, reported seeing “three or four males” running in the alley between California and 44th; while that witness had no further description information, they saw someone throw something under a dumpster, and that’s where police subsequently found a semi-automatic handgun. A records check showed the gun had been reported stolen in Tacoma. SFD tells us the teen was treated by medics but did not require hospitalization.
12:28 PM:Thanks for the tips. According to the flight tracker, that helicopter over Westwood, Gatewood, and vicinity is registered to the Department of Homeland Security. We’re looking around on the ground and researching further. The tracker now shows it heading north (added) and then south again.
12:39 PM: Adding a screengrab from FlightRadar24 showing part of the circling it’s done. It’s close to our HQ east of Lincoln Park currently. The tracker shows it started its trip up in Arlington.
(WSB photo)
12:55 PM: Added a photo. While DHS has a variety of agencies under its wing, the FlightRadar24 page for this helicopter has a closeup shot that shows a Customs and Border Protection logo. (Added – We got a better picture from its flyover. Substituted above. Same logo.)
1:17 PM: Looking for someone to ask about this, but in the meantime, the Customs website has a one-sheet that says this type of aircraft is usually used:
“… to perform missions such as aerial patrol and surveillance of stationary or moving targets. These LEHs are the optimal aerial surveillance platform in metropolitan areas because their vertical lift capability and maneuverability enable operations from off-airport sites and in close proximity to congested airports.
Electro-optical/infrared sensors and video downlink provide intelligence and communications support that enhance officer safety during high-risk operations and increase covertness during surveillance operations.
Video recorders document suspect activities for evidentiary use. The AS350s often fly with a crew of two (pilot and observer).”
1:52 PM: After looping around the north half of the peninsula a while, the helicopter is no longer shown on the tracker. Meantime, our inquiry to the CBP media contact for this region drew an auto-reply saying he’s out of the office because of the federal government funding lapse (aka “shutdown”).
(WSB photos)
7:08 PM: First police received reports of possible gunfire heard in South Delridge – now there’s a “scenes of violence” call at Delridge/Barton. We’re on the way to find out more.
7:17 PM: SFD tells us they’re transporting a man in his 20s with a gunshot wound. Police have a K9 out searching in the area. That’s all we have so far. Northbound Delridge is blocked to traffic at Henderson.
7:23 PM: Police confirm they’re looking for a suspect. If you’re hearing sirens, that’s because of the K9 search. The victim has been taken to Harborview by Medic 32.
7:48 PM: Guardian One has joined the search.
8:15 PM: We’ve gone back to the scene to check on the situation. No word of anyone in custody yet. But Delridge has reopened both ways.
9:09 PM: No new info from SPD yet; the victim is now described by SFD as “approximately 30 years old” and in serious condition at the time of transport.
9:58 AM FRIDAY: Here’s the update from police via SPD Blotter:
… The victim, a 26-year-old man, was shot in the shoulder and is being treated at the hospital. The injury is not considered to be life-threatening.
Just before 7:00 pm Thursday, a resident in the 8800 block of Delridge Way SW reported a burglary in progress when he observed a man attempting to break into his home. Officers responded and located the possible burglar. The man had been shot in the shoulder. Officers immediately provided first aid and called for Seattle Fire to respond. The victim reported to police that someone had broken into his home nearby and fought with him. During the struggle the suspect shot him and then fled. The victim ran to the location on Delridge seeking assistance.
The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center for further treatment. A K-9 team responded and attempted a track. The Sheriff’s Office helicopter, Guardian One, also provided assistance, but officers were unable to locate the suspect.
Officers learned later from the victim that he may know the suspect, and detectives will follow up on that information.
(WSB photos. Above, shooting scene on southwest side of 15th/Roxbury)
9:42 PM: Thanks for the tips. Guardian One is helping with a search over South Delridge and White Center. Radio traffic indicates the primary responders were King County Sheriff’s Deputies, so it started on the county side of the line. We’re on the way to find out more.
9:55 PM: Deputies tell us they’re looking for suspect(s) in a shooting in White Center – they say the victim was shot in the hand. The search is about to affect traffic on Roxbury, according to radio discussion – we don’t know for how long.
10:03 PM: Roxbury has reopened. Search continues. Deputies tell us the shooting happened near the gas station on the southwest corner of 15th/Roxbury, and the male victim has been taken to a hospital.
10:11 PM: The search/containment area is fairly wide – a K9 team is still tracking on the ground, with G-1 in the air.’
10:23 PM: KCSO says via Twitter that the victim is 26 years old and that they’re looking for one suspect, someone who “is believed to still be armed.”
10:30 PM: Photos added. The K9 search has been “called (off),” per KCSO, but deputies are still searching the area.
10:21 PM: Thanks for the tips about the police search in Delridge – we’ve just gone to the area where police with K9 are searching, the 26th/Brandon vicinity, to find out more. They tell us they are looking for a suspected thief, after recovering a stolen bicycle. The Guardian One helicopter is joining them. The man they’re looking for is described as in his 50s, white, 6′ tall, with a white beard. More as we get it.
11:13 PM: Helicopter has moved on after exhausting the possibilities in the area. No report of an arrest so far.
ADDED 11:03 AM: As promised, we contacted SPD’s media office this morning for more details. From Det. Mark Jamieson:
A victim called 911 to report seeing his recently (unreported) stolen bicycle being pushed past his location in the 7100 block of Delridge Way SW. He called out to the suspect, who fled the scene riding the bicycle northbound. Officers conducted an area check and located the suspect in the 5400 block Delridge Way SW. The suspect observed officers in the area and, again, fled the scene. He was observed in the 5400 block of 26 Ave SW before losing sight of him. Containment was set up and a K9 track was established. K9 observed the suspect in the nearby wooded area, but due to the terrain and natural obstacles, the suspect managed to elude the officers. K9 located the stolen bicycle, which was returned to the owner. The suspect was not located after an extensive area check with assistance of Guardian One.
(WSB photos)
6:08 PM: Sylvan Way is blocked both ways by a crash in the 6900 block [map] that briefly drew a sizable SFD “extrication” response. Everybody’s out, per radio communication. More info to come.
6:17 PM: Police are searching for someone in connection with this and the Guardian One helicopter has joined the search. Our crew says apparently one of the drivers fled – two vehicles were involved. Two children are hurt and will be taken to a hospital.
6:29 PM: We’re told the children’s mom also will be taken to a hospital. But none of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening.
6:52 PM: Police have detained a man near 25th/Myrtle.
7:03 PM: We’ve confirmed with police that the man is being questioned in connection with the crash; G-1 has tweeted that, too.
7:26 PM: Our crew tells us Sylvan has reopened.
11:56 PM: SPD says the man was arrested for suspected DUI as well as hit-run.
1:18 AM: Husband/dad of pregnant woman and kids hit by the suspected drunk driver says in a comment that they’ll be OK.
In case you wondered (we’ve already received a few questions) – that helicopter is just a TV chopper checking on pre-Thanksgiving Fauntleroy ferry-terminal traffic. (One-hour wait right now, says WSF.) No breaking news.
…. seen from east West Seattle, it was a TV chopper and while there’s nothing breaking in our area right now, there’s an incident right across the Duwamish River:
Seattle Fire on scene at the 4700 Blk. of E. Marginal Way S. for report of possible suspicious package in mailroom. Building evacuated as precaution. HAZMAT team investigating.
— Seattle Fire Dept. (@SeattleFire) November 2, 2018
11:48 AM UPDATE: Per scanner, the package was opened, “just a bunch of brochures, no hazard,” and the situation should be winding down.
8:24 PM: In case you’re wondering about the Guardian One law-enforcement helicopter over eastern West Seattle – they’re helping police with a call about a person who is allegedly violating a court order near 24th/Thistle, according to the dispatch.
8:28 PM: Police say the situation is under control; G-1 is leaving.
8:24 PM: If you’re hearing Guardian One, the helicopter crew has tweeted that they are helping Seattle Police search for “a robbery suspect that fled in a vehicle on Delridge Way SW from the Home Depot.” More when we get it.
9:04 PM: We checked the area and couldn’t find anyone still searching, so we stopped at the precinct to see what we could find out. The robbery was a case of shoplifting turned violent. No one in custody.
12:54 AM: Police are being sent right now to the Harbor Avenue 7-11 after a reported armed robbery. According to police dispatch, three people robbed the store at gunpoint. The clerk is reported to be injured, so SFD is being sent too. So far, only a partial description of the robbers – three men, one black, two white, in their late 20s, one in a white jacket, two in black jackets. We’ll add anything more we find out.
1:00 AM: Two of the robbers were reported to have been wearing masks; all three were last seen walking away, possibly carrying cases of beer. The Guardian One law-enforcement helicopter is now in the area helping with the search.
1:29 AM: No luck so far.
10:19 AM: We just checked with SPD media relations. The robbers are still at large. Description and circumstances info in the report is all the same as what we reported at the time, with two added details: This was reported by a customer who came into the store about five minutes after the holdup and found the clerk injured. One of the robbers had hit him on the back of the head with an object believed to have been a gun. SFD treated him at the scene.
8:34 PM: From SPD via Twitter:
Missing: Lily Bailey
5'3" 150 lbs
Last seen in the 3500 blk SW 108 St.
Has autism. May go toward Westwood Village.
Call 911 if seen. pic.twitter.com/Vswad7dgSm— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) September 12, 2018
The Guardian One helicopter is currently over Lincoln Park and we believe it’s related (added – or a different missing-person case for which no alert has been issued so far).
8:37 PM: The helicopter’s moved on to another incident by the bridge.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes:
GUARDIAN ONE: Thanks to those who messaged us a few minutes ago that the law-enforcement helicopter was in the Westwood area; it wasn’t showing on flight tracker so we didn’t know until then. We checked in with them on Twitter and the reply: “Assisted Seattle PD with taking a felony suspect into custody near Westwood Village.”
STOLEN CAR: Alex e-mailed this report a short time ago: “My car was stolen outside of Southwest Youth and Family Services, at 25th SW and SW Alaska St. Blue Ford Taurus, 2005, WA license plate AVD0257. There is a Rover.com magnet on the back that may have been peeled off.” Call 911 if you see it. (SATURDAY UPDATE: Alex says his car has been recovered.)
Thanks for all the texts about the Guardian One helicopter over North Delridge. We hadn’t heard about any corresponding ground activity so started heading that way – and they promptly left. But on Twitter they’ve responded to our mention by saying they were helping find a stolen vehicle that was emitting a LoJack signal. They say SPD is recovering it now.
11:23 PM: A report of gunfire in Westwood has police searching for up to five suspects. Per scanner, they were most recently reported to have fled behind the 35th/Barton 7-11 southbound and then westbound. A K-9 team is joining the search. The person reported to have fired one shot is described as a young “light-skinned black male” wearing a “sparkly red jacket.” No injuries reported.
11:29 PM: The gunshot reportedly happened near the Southwest Library (35th/Henderson). Also, the Guardian One helicopter is joining the search.
11:35 PM: Per radio communication, this involved someone “chasing (the suspects) with a two-by-four” when one “turned around and shot at” that person.
11:49 PM: The search is scaling down; they’ve exhausted the possibilities and there are other pending calls.
ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: We have obtained the report narrative from SPD. The person who said he was fired at told police that he was chasing the suspects because they had assaulted his girlfriend. He said the two of them are squatting in an empty house in the 9000 block of 35th SW. She was walking in the alley and around the 34th/Barton P-Patch, looking for cigarette butts, when she encountered the suspects. One asked her for cigarettes; she said she had none and was looking for them herself. Then, the boyfriend told police, the suspects called her names, punched her in the face, knocked her down, and kicked her. She screamed for help; her boyfriend went to the house where they were squatting, got a 2 x 4, and chased the suspects after calling 911. That’s when one turned and shot at him, he said, as they were running southbound behind the 35th/Barton 7-11. He said he lost track of them at that point. While he insisted that’s where the shot was fired, police did not find a shell casing nor any other evidence of gunfire. Nearby residents also said they heard the shot. As we reported last night, helicopter and K9 assisted in the subsequent search, but no one was found.
Some questions about helicopter activity over Harbor Island earlier. Seattle Fire had a hazmat response at Terminal 18 on the northeast side for what was described as a “small corrosive spill.” The call closed out earlier this hour.
10:48 PM WEDNESDAY: We don’t know what exactly Guardian One was doing flying a long track back and forth – north to south and back again – over the peninsula for a while this past hour, with a couple smaller circles in different spots, but the scanner’s been absolutely quiet in the area, so, given that and the fact the focus wasn’t on any one spot, we’re fairly certain it wasn’t related to anything happening out there currently. (We even headed out on the ground to check, but didn’t find any spots of activity.) Flight-tracking software shows it has since headed north, then east, and is now over the Eastside. Though Guardian One works with law-enforcement departments all over the area, it belongs to the King County Sheriff’s Office, so we’ll check tomorrow to see if there’s anything they can tell us about the mystery flight.
ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Thanks to KCSO’s Sgt. Ryan Abbott for checking into this for us. He forwarded the reply from Air Support: “We were flying patrol, no call or anything significant.”
11:31 PM: If you hear the Guardian One helicopter in southeast West Seattle, near Westcrest Park – it’s being called in to help with what scanner traffic indicates is a search for two people described as auto-theft suspects. There’s a ground search with K-9, too. The suspects are described so far as male, white, one in a camouflage jacket, ponytail and goatee, the other in a black shirt or jacket and “slightly unshaven.” If you have any information, call 911.
12:54 AM: Sounds as if police detained one person. We’ll be following up later this morning to see what else we can find out about how this started and shook out.
(WSB photo)
HELICOPTER HELP WITH AUTO-THEFT ARREST: Thanks for the tips about Guardian One over Arbor Heights a short time ago. We headed that way to investigate – hadn’t heard anything on the scanner – and subsequently learned that they were helping track down a stolen car. The helicopter crew tweeted that it was found with a suspect “passed out inside.” This happened near 34th and 100th (photo above). ADDED 2:54 PM: Helicopter video, just made public:
ADMIRAL BREAK-IN: From John:
Our garage was broken into (Wednesday) afternoon around 3:20 pm. The padlock was cut off. We were home watching TV when they entered our back yard via the alley. They were preparing items to be picked up later as they stole the garage door opener. Hope they return soon so I don’t get tired of waiting for them. We are located on 41st Ave SW North of Admiral Way. Seattle Police were out and took fingerprints.
That’s not far from where a car was broken into a day later.
BICYCLE FOUND: Abandoned bicycles usually tend to have been stolen and dumped. Here’s one Karen just found on a dead-end West Seattle street:
Yours? Let us know.
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