ASSAULT ON CALIFORNIA AVE just after 4pm today (Sunday)

[blessedmama]

I just wanted to let all of you know, the Seattle police are looking for a man who assaulted another man by hitting him across the head with a large chain, leaving the man bleeding profusely. This happened today, Sunday May 6th just after 4pm. I was at Husky (on California Ave.) with my daughters (enjoying their wonderful icecream) and this happened just outside the door and down a little bit.

This is the description of the man whom police are looking for: TALL (APPROX. 6FT) WHITE HOMELESS MALE (YOUNG) WITH CHIN-LENGTH DREADLOCKS (DIRTY BLONDE)

–name removed by editor–

He’s pretty recognizable, I know I’ve seen him quite a few times hanging out in front of the old Petco with some of his young homeless friends begging for money. And today my daughters and I walked right past him on California Ave, about 30 minutes before this incident.

Stay safe out there, if you happen to see this man, please call police right away. This attack happened in broad daylight, plenty of people walking around the junction. I knew it got a little hairy after dark, but for the most part I’ve felt pretty safe. I am shocked that this happened on a beautiful, busy, Sunday afternoon.

Share This

[WSB]

Hi there – Did you actually see this? We didn’t hear anything about an incident like this and I’m not finding anything in The Junction on the 911 log around that time – if someone was bleeding profusely, there should have been a fire department medic call. There was a call around 5 pm in the 4700 block, just an aid response, which is the lowest level of medical call. Would like to know more about where the information comes from regarding the alleged suspect, because this is very clearly incriminating someone specifically identifiable and that’s against WSB rules unless they are charged or unless the request comes directly from the police. You are also welcome to e-mail me at editor@westseattleblog.com – TR

Share This

[smokeycretin9]

Family and I were going to Terrible Beauty at 5-ish and there was a whole mess load of police up there in the Junction.

Share This

[changingtimes]

I saw the police outside the Hope Lutheran church houses between oregon and Alaska around that time. I think those are the houses the church uses for homeless people..not exactly sure. But there were 2 cop cars and officers on the property.

Share This

[WSB]

Just so you know, the church doesn’t own those houses (they used to own the one at Alaska/42nd); they’ve been slated for development for a couple years now. SWAT team practiced inside one of them recently, in fact. I still haven’t found corroboration of this and I am going to delete the nickname of the person described above; will check with police in the morning .

Share This

[changingtimes]

Really? It’s been that long? Sorry! I just remember the old lady who used to sleep in her car on our street until the church took over and let her move into that house on the corner. If they don’t own it anymore I wonder where she went!

Share This

[blessedmama]

Oh sorry about that (WSB) didn’t mean to break any rules on here, I’m just a concerned citizen who is trying to get all of the information out there that I know, to keep others safe.

While I was in Husky Deli, a fire truck was first on the scene, then numerous police cars (I counted 5 stopped) and there were a few others patrolling looking for the suspect, then the ambulance came and took the victim to the hospital. This victim was bleeding profusely, he had to be treated on the scene and got his entire head bandaged, there was blood all over the sidewalk and ofcourse all over himself. Then they took him to the hospital. I did not actually witness the man hit the other guy with the chain but I talked to another man who did. He was the one who gave me that guys nickname and described him to me.

I surely hope this violent man is found and soon. The man who gave me the description told the police that he knew where the suspect usually stays, that would be why they were near Hope Lutheran about that time.

Share This

[WSratsinacage]

I hope the victim is ok. Is anyone else sick of living in an area where we have to deal with this s*** !? Can’t even go to patronize local businesses on a nice day to get ice cream as a family. These incidents in the Junction appear to be on the rise. WTH!? The Junction Association has been working with the police and businesses are putting in code of conduct signs but it doesn’t seem to be slowing down problems in the Junction. The Junction Association’s approach needs to change if they want people to continue to come to the area to spend money. Thanks.

Share This

[Thistlemist]

I sincerely hope that the assault victim is ok. Head injuries have long lives and recovery is not a picnic to say the least.

Not to be pessimistic or snarky but truly, what more would you like to see the association do? Hire armed security? Where else would you go to shop? Bellevue Square or Southcenter Mall? Fremont, Wallingford, Greenlake, etc.. neighborhoods? I have personally witnessed altercations and violent events at all of these places. Horrible things happen in large and small communities. Our Junction is a clean, well lit, inviting space with business owners who know many of their clientele by first name and if they are not seeing them in their store, they are seeing them when out grocery shopping or at little league. The owners I know are diligent watchers who care about Junction visitors and often do not hesitate to call the non-emergency number if something just does not feel right. The most important thing that we can continue to do is actively engage in this area, shop at the stores, sit on the benches, take our walks and jogs through this area; in short, be present.

Its horrible to have to witness a random act of violence, its not something that anyone wants to go through, but our response as a community should not be to freak out, assume that crime is now on the rise and things like this never happen in “good” areas and thus, abandon our neighborhood spots.

Share This

[Bostonman]

I was at Husky with my wife and 3 kids around 2pm. I am amazed it happened during the day but I am not surprised that it happened. I have seen a lot more rif raf in the junciton lately.

The person fitting that description is consistently in front of Petco begging for money. Shouldn’t be to hard to find.

Share This

[TheJunction]

The Junction Association and our business owners are very concerned about these types of events that happen in our neighborhood. We actively communicate with our community police who are somewhat limited in dealing with problem individuals. This person and his friends are here because it’s worth their while in terms of successful panhandling and food donations. Early that day, some nice person had bought the attacker a Bakery Nouveau sandwich. The police stated that these folks will be around as long as they’re supported with food and money. Also, as a community we should report all suspicious behavior and react quickly to escalating interactions (by calling 911).

Share This

[waterworld]

I share the hope that the victim’s injuries are not severe and that recovery is swift and complete. But I cannot get behind the idea that assaults are on the rise here. On the whole, the numbers of violent assaults in both the City and West Seattle specifically are lower than the historical average. Over the ten year period from 2001 to 2010, aggravated assaults dropped by 7% citywide. The number so far this year would put us on track for an annual total that would be up to 8% below the 2001-2010 average. (I don’t have precinct/sector/beat data in a form to easily compare it to the citywide averages, but the number of violent assaults yeart-to-date this year is unchanged from 2009, a little higher than last year, and a little lower than 2010.)

What’s increased is not the rate of violent incidents — it’s our awareness of them. Thanks to things like WSB, hyperlocal online forums, twitter, etc., we now learn of incidents in our neighborhoods as soon as they happen. The original post here is a great example of both what’s great about that and what’s not so great about that. It’s good to be alerted to specific potentially dangerous people or places so we can respond appropriately. If I knew that a dozen police and fire vehicles were busy in the Junction, I’d avoid the area for a little while.

But we should be careful about relying on information posted anonymously on a forum. As a reader, I am in no position to distinguish between accurate accounts and inaccurate ones in situations like this. The OP admits that she “did not actually witness the man hit the other guy with the chain.” So how does she even know that’s what happened? Well, she says she spoke to a man who did see it. Okay, I’ll accept that, but he is also unnamed and I have no way of knowing whether he is reporting accurately. What if he is wrong about who it was? Or worse, what if he purposely misidentified the perpetrator?

I’m not saying the OP is misreporting anything or that the guy she spoke to misreported anything. But at best we have second-hand accounts (meaning as to the the identity of an alleged perpetrator and the nature of the assault or incident) from anonymous sources. We could, as Bostonman says, perhaps very easily identify a person who fits the description; whether that is the same as identifying the perpetrator is an open question.

Share This

[WSB]

And this is why, when it’s something serious, we ask that you please contact us … we can report on the story. So much is NOT on the scanner or the 911 log, that we rely on tips from people (“hey, there are six police cars in The Junction, what’s up”) to get us on the case. We use a fair amount of reader-reported information in Crime Watch but NOT assaults/robberies/etc. without police verification.

But anyway, I have obtained some information from police. This will be in a Crime Watch roundup in a little while but so that the loop is closed here:

Suspect description:

“White male, 20s, 6’1 tall, 160 pds, with dirty blond dreadlocks. Wearing a black jacket with white stripes on sleeves, “dungy” jeans and dirty white sneakers. Officers have dealt with a person matching this description before. Officers responded to an address in W. Sea looking for the suspect with negative results.”

Description of the incident (address 4700 block of California SW)

“There was a disturbance between the suspect and victim outside the tavern. The suspect used a large chain with a pad lock on the end to strike the victim in the head. The victim was treated by SFD on scene and transported to HMC for further treatment of his injury.”

How he’s doing, we don’t know.

Regarding the points about crime trends: (A) If you are concerned, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take advantage of the resources that are available and come to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, third Tuesday, May 15th is the next one, 7 pm at the precinct. Police are there and answer questions.

(B) At any time you can check the online maps. Serious incidents like assaults and robberies and homicides (not that property crime is NOT serious) are in red. The map iconizes everything. This map shows what’s up the past week-plus:

http://web5.seattle.gov/mnm/policereports.aspx

TR

Share This

[blessedmama]

Well, I think I will think twice before posting a “warning” on this blog. I can understand where you are coming from, as to this being an anonymous blog and not being able to trust my accounts. I do understand that. But the only reason I even thought to post this was to help bring awareness to the situation, that there is a violent man on the loose. Basically warning people, if you see a man fitting this description then walk the other way (and call police). I personally would want to know if something like this happened.

I would not post my real name for the only reason being if by chance this man has access to this blog. I am not going to personally put my information out there for him or his friends to see and in turn possibly putting myself and my family in danger. So take it or leave it. As I said in an earlier post, I am a concerned citizen. Not only concerned about my family’s safety but the safety of others as well. I personally don’t care why this happened, it happened, that’s all I need to know. I personally wouldn’t care where the information came from, I would just care that it happened. I’m not trying to be rude in any way (hope it doesn’t sound like that). I truly care about the safety of others. I was really just trying to put a warning out there so people can be a little more aware. I’m always walking in the junction with my family, I would like to know if something like this happened and I thought most of you would as well.

Share This

[blessedmama]

@WSB question: when you said “so that the loop is closed here” does that mean this posting? Sorry, if so! I wouldn’t have posted more. :)

Share This

[nighthawk]

Thank you for the information. We were at the junction earlier and just missed this, luckily.

Share This

[moji]

Well, if it WAS the Petco Panhandler, he’s not hiding. I saw him around 7:00pm tonight in the crosswalk at Admiral and 42nd. I hadn’t read the forums since Saturday, so thought nothing of seeing him. Hmmmmm….

Share This

[Harmonic]

Blessedmama – thank you for posting. As someone that lives three blocks off the junction, I appreciate the info. Perhaps, I use it to keep my kids indoors for a bit. I hope you don’t feel like you got jumped on.

Share This

[Diane]

blessedmama; I really appreciate that you posted, and for the reasons that you stated; I’ve never noticed the guy hanging out in the junction; good to know to steer clear if there’s potential for harm; thank you for the warning

~

not sure what “so that the loop is closed here” means

~

and I don’t understand what rule was broken; perhaps TR could clarify; it looks like you had pretty accurate info from the start; I hope you will continue to participate here

Share This

[2 Much Whine]

Diane, Blessedmama posted a person’s name. that person has not been formally charged and it is against the WSB rules. You can see in the original post it says “-name removed by editor-.” TR could have deleted the post entirely but didn’t. As far as the “close the loop” comment is concened it is clear that TR wanted to not just start a new thread and expect us all to read it – in addition to posting a new thread she is “closing the loop” here so she doesn’t leave us hanging.

.

It’s easy to take comments on here personally and it is also hard to convey tone in a blog. I don’t think the intent was to make anyone “think twice before posting a “warning” on this blog.” I think TR was just ensuring we follow the rules. You’ll always get some jacknob that will post snarky comments here and there but take them with a grain of salt.

.

Bottom line: No ill will here, keep reading and writing.

Share This

[blessedmama]

thank you guys for the kind words. I did feel slightly attacked for putting the warning out there but like 2 Much Wine said above it is really hard to convey tone. I will admit I need to review the rules on here. I guess I thought it was somewhat similar to Facebook. I did break a rule in putting the suspects nickname on here. It wasn’t a real name but it was still a name he was known by on the streets. And I didn’t realize I was breaking any rule at the time. As soon as I got home that afternoon, I was in a hurry to post the info on the WSB to get it out there and warn others. Next time I will send the info to WSB/TR first. Thank you again.

Share This

[WSratsinacage]

Thanks blessedmama!

.

Thistlemist, I respectfully disagree that the junction is clean. To name just a few things: there is often dog poop on the sidewalk and human urine/feces in the walk throughs between the parking lot to the west. There are cigarette butts galore and trash, beer bottles, cans, etc.

.

In general, it is an ok place to shop and eat, it could be a lot worse, I fear that is where it continues to head and if it does, my family and I wont be back. Right or wrong, this is my choice. I feel people should look back into the incidents that have occured in the last few years which include but are not limited to panhandling, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists being hit by cars, robbery, drug sales/drug use, assault, property damage, to cold blooded murder. Most, if not all, has been reported on wsb. The Junction does not fit my definition of a “nice” place for individuals or families.

Share This

[waterworld]

Blessedmama: If I came across as attacking you, I apologize. I did not mean my comment about the original post as an attack on you, your credibility, or your motivation.

I agree with everyone else that it is very helpful to be informed about these incidents, and I appreciate it when people take the time to post on the forum or alert Tracy & crew at WSB. What I was trying to point out about the second-hand nature of information we receive through the forum is that there’s often no way to get around the fact that it’s second-hand and unsourced. I did not mean to suggest that you should identify yourself or the other person you spoke to, either; I don’t post my name or personal information here, and I wouldn’t expect you or anyone else to do so. I just think that, unfortunately, one upshot of our tendency to post anonymously or not identify our sources (or both) is that readers really cannot know if information in a post is accurate — particularly on issues like the identity of an alleged assailant. This is a feature (or bug) of the medium, not all the people posting on it.

WSrats: I respect your choice to stay away from the Junction if you are concerned about its cleanliness or safety, or, for that matter, any reason. The thing is, the crime rate in the Junction was probably significantly higher a decade ago than it is now, according to the data. So I do think it’s more a matter of perception than reality. Also, one way of preserving or improving the Junction is saturating it with individuals and families who care about the neighborhood and are willing to put in some effort to make it the place they (we) want it to be. I hope you’ll keep an open mind about spending time there with your family and supporting the events or businesses that you care about.

Share This

[Diane]

re “As far as the “close the loop” comment is concened it is clear that TR wanted to not just start a new thread and expect us all to read it – in addition to posting a new thread she is “closing the loop” here so she doesn’t leave us hanging.”

~

thanks for clarification 2 Much Whine; it was not clear to me what that meant, or to blessedmama, or perhaps others; so appreciate explanation

Share This

[datamuse]

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with posting warnings like this here; however, there is a very good reason to also alert the blog editors when you do so.

That reason is that lots of people who visit the home page and read the stories there neither read nor participate in the forum, and thus won’t know that this even happened unless it gets formal coverage from WSB. Plus, WSB can follow up–with the hospital, with law enforcement, with affected businesses, and so forth, and provide context on the incident.

The Junction is cleaner and safer than a lot of other places I’ve been in the city recently. Of course it could be better, but so could most things.

Share This

[Author]

Posts