West Seattle, Washington
02 Tuesday
First, from Karen in Admiral:
We had a prowler visit early this AM. I want people to know, because I live on a quiet dead-end alley. … Last night at 12:30 AM. My dog started to bark. It was raining hard. I thought it was lightning outside because I saw a white light in my bedroom. I stood up and looked out my second story bedroom window. Below I saw a blonde, clean-cut man in my garage with a flashlight. We made eye contact and he said something to someone else and split. They may have been caught in the act and didn’t have time to take anything. It appears that everything is still there. This took place (in the 3200 block of) 46th Ave SW [map].
Second, from Cheri in Sunrise Heights:
I just wanted to throw a warning out for anyone living in the 29th and Webster area [map]. Last night or early this morning my mothers car was broken into, they tore everything about as if to be looking for something specific. They only took a few dollars in change, only cause there was nothing else of value. They sure maid a mess though!! So remember to lock your cars!!
Out of the WSB inbox, from Eric:
I had my small boat stolen last night from my alley in Arbor Heights (41st and 100th) between 8 last night and 7 this morning. It should be easy to spot and identify as it is bright yellow. The boat is a 1988 12 foot Duroboat with WA hull ID number WN-6743LD and the boat is yellow on top and aluminum on the bottom. It was on a galvanized (silver) trailer license number 2990TL. The trailer should be easy to spot as well as there aren’t too many boat trailers with small mismatched 8″ wheels (hey, I had a flat last week).
Another helpful ID point may be that the boat was upside-down on the trailer when stolen to keep the rain out. Most thieves aren’t know for their housekeeping skills so it is probably still upside-down on the trailer.
He’s reported this to Seattle Police, so if you call them with a sighting, they should be able to cross-reference.
Thanks to the folks who e-mailed us a little earlier this morning to ask about a search, and sirens, in the Admiral area, 45th/Admiral vicinity (map). Lt. Ron Smith at the Southwest Precinct tells us that followed “a street robbery of a victim who was walking.” The robbers are described as four males in their late teens; K-9 joined the search but didn’t find them. Lt. Smith also mentioned another incident in the early morning hours — gunshots heard near Sanislo Elementary (map). He says “Officers responded and found three .380 cal. shell casings on the street. There were no reports of injuries, and no property damage was reported or found.”
From just southwest of The Junction, Bill e-mailed in hopes that you might be able to help solve this crime:
I’d like to report a hit and run on the corner of Erskine Way SW and SW Dawson that happened (last night). The hit vehicle, a 2002 Saturn Vue, was parked in front of my house.
… My vehicle was hit from behind on the driver’s side. The bumper and tailgate was damaged and the tailpipe is broken. No paint was left but the damage to the other vehicle would have to have been to the front passenger side.
… Just one other note, a neighbor just told me that the hit and run occurred at 9:05 PM last night as he heard a “crash” but he was not able to get to his window in time to see the vehicle.
If anybody (else) saw or heard anything I’d sure appreciate it if they step forward.
He did call police, and reports a “cordial and professional” officer responded: “She collected evidence which included what looked like a signal light casing and it had a part number. She is going to try to trace the number.”
Sorry we didn’t have information while it was happening, but we now have messages out to police to ask what was up – literally and figuratively – with the helicopter search that several people have reported hearing over eastern West Seattle in the 2-3 am vicinity this morning. Will add information here as soon as we have it. 7:20 AM UPDATE: Just spoke with Officer Renee Witt in the Seattle Police media unit. She says two calls brought significant officer response to West Seattle early this morning, though it looks like the second call is the one that brought out the helicopter. First, there was a business burglary in the 6000 block of 35th SW; Officer Witt says a door was kicked in, a K-9 team joined the search, and the report indicates that some suspects were arrested. (We hope to get more on that later.) Second, there was a call from the same address involved in the SWAT team response weekend before last; the caller reported seeing a suspicious vehicle in the area. That’s what Officer Witt says brought out Guardian 1 – the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter that is also used to assist Seattle Police when necessary – though ultimately police believe the call may have been false. No arrests in that one, though there was an aid response to the same vicinity around 5 am today – no word yet if it was related. 9:58 AM UPDATE: And we have MORE information now – directly from the Southwest Precinct. Just spoke with Sgt. Jeff Durden, who says that Guardian One WAS deployed for the aforementioned business burglary, and here are more details on that: The business hit around 2 am was the convenience store in the 6300 block of 35th. According to Sgt. Durden, “three to four males were seen kicking in the door … and throwing items out of it.” Responding officers set up containment, called in K-9 and the helicopter, and eventually two suspects were arrested, a 17-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man, and officers “recovered bags full of merchandise from the store.”
If you haven’t seen this already on the Crime Watch page, which automatically picks up updates from the SPDBlotter site – Seattle Police arrested two 13-year-old suspects running from a burglary scene in Highland Park (1400 block of SW Trenton; here’s a map) this morning; here’s the police writeup.
We got two notes about this car theft but, before we could publish an item, a third note came in, saying the car had been found. Now, here’s the fourth note – tying up the story neatly (and neighbors may want to know a car thief’s at work nearby):
My wife and I thought we’d let you know her Honda Accord was stolen last night (we live on 37th Ave SW between Myrtle and Willow [map]) but thankfully recovered about a mile north of us on 32nd Ave SW. No serious damage but my wife’s phone charger was stolen (they left her $150 sunglasses, whew!). The thieves left the car turned on and the engine running – not long after we called the police the car was reported by neighbors who thought it odd a strange car would be left outside their house running all morning. It still had plenty of gas in it, though, and my wife happily drove off to work and we parted ways with the nice officers who responded quickly, Hope and Morales.
Out of the WSB inbox, from J:
I would like to share the fact we had the 3rd burglary today (2 break-ins
and 1 attempt) since we moved to 41st and Thistle [map] about two years ago. At least one of the thugs squeezed through an 8″x12″ window in the basement (seriously?). They set the alarm off, but apparently it didn’t stop them from stabbing the alarm panel speaker with a large kitchen knife (baaad speaker, you!). They didn’t harm the horn.Then they just ripped the alarm panel off the wall – the alarm company reported anyway because it has a battery.
It was a rainy day, so they made a big mess. They decided to leave all other expensive toys and went only for the LCD TV (lucky us). Although, they wrapped the TV with our most favorite blanket.
The cats had a short, but nice time outside until I arrived.
This was at 5:20 pm, open, exposed corner lot in the rainy but bright afternoon. Besides caring less to do this while I usually would have been home already (I wish so badly that I was!), the two guys wearing rubber gloves, hauling a large size TV out of a house with the alarm in the background, the TV covered up sparsely with a blanket and leaving the door open.?
Hey people, come on! They might not look like they live here, nor do I believe their car has ever been seen on our street and they were for sure covered in dirt from crawling under the muddy deck – yet not one person has seen or heard anything. What can we do, if we are all working during the day in this area and the thugs get more and more desperate?
Ah well, one day I’ll catch one.
While at the Southwest Precinct late last night looking at reports including the Morgan Junction anti-gay vandalism case (WSB coverage here), we also found the police report from Friday night’s Alki shooting. Not all of the 44-page report is public, but there are a few additional details of interest – read on:Read More
It was a story we covered last summer, starting with the story of a shocking attack, continuing with a heartening community outpouring of well-wishes: Southwest Precinct Officer Jason McKissack was attacked and seriously injured eleven months ago while responding to a call in High Point. Days later, in an effort led by the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, hundreds of people sent him get-well wishes and messages of gratitude. Fast-forward to yesterday: While talking with Southwest Precinct Captain Joe Kessler about Alki police presence, for this followup to last week’s shooting, we learned that not only is Officer McKissack still not back at work, but that the trial of his accused attackers — identified at the time as two 16-year-old boys and a 17-year-old girl — is about to begin. According to information we subsequently obtained from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, trial is set to start today, before King Co. Superior Court Judge Tim Bradshaw at the county courthouse downtown, and will likely last about a week; we have heard from at least one West Seattle resident who is scheduled to testify as a witness.
(photo added Tuesday afternoon)
Police are investigating repeat graffiti vandalism on the garage door of a California Ave home in Morgan Junction where two men live, and citywide media reports describe the vandalism as involving a “homophobic slur.” We linked this seattlepi.com story about it to the Crime Watch page earlier today; now we’ve gotten word that at least one TV crew is there tonight covering the story – here’s the link to channel 13’s online story, sent to us by a West Seattleite who wrote:
It seems like some sort of call-to-action with your reader-base could help find whoever’s doing it. It’s on a busy street – so someone has to have witnessed something (they’ve done it three times over this last weekend!) … this is just the type of thing a neighborhood can prevent when we come together.
We don’t have the police report on this yet but will be working to obtain it. 9:27 PM UPDATE: We’re at the precinct now, and the report is available – read on for a transcription of what it says about this incident, with names and profanities deleted:Read More
As discussion intensified in the comment section following our as-it-happened coverage of Friday night’s Alki shooting (original report here, today’s first followup here) – which sent a 19-year-old to the hospital, with the shooter/s still at large – many people asked about police presence at the beach — is it less than before; whether it is or not, should there be more? So we put in a request to talk with the man who’s in charge of West Seattle police, the commander of the Southwest Precinct, Captain Joe Kessler. First thing this morning, he sat down with WSB for more than an hour. Important to note, you will see him at some upcoming community meetings, including the Alki Community Council on May 21, so as we’ve said before, you will want to be there to directly voice any concerns you have. But as for some answers right now – here’s our story about the conversation with Capt. Kessler this morning:
(Friday night photos, this one and above left, by David Hutchinson)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Just one hour after a 19-year-old was shot at Alki last Friday night, WSB commenter “At the Beach” asked, “Shouldn’t there have been at least more (of) a police presence on a sunny Friday evening down at Alki?”
That’s one of the questions Capt. Joe Kessler, now in his second year as commander of the police precinct responsible for West Seattle and South Park, wanted to answer – even before we asked it. (Yes, he reads WSB comments too.) Right off the top in our conversation at the precinct this morning, he addressed a specific question about police presence, as asked by Cathy at 8:55 Friday night: “Remember that huge police RV, command center type vehicle which always seemed to be parked right across from Alki Auto? Haven’t seen it for a long time.”
According to Capt. Kessler, that’s because the “RV” — officially, a “mobile precinct” — got to be so old, it started “falling apart” and is no longer in service; it was used less last year than in years past, in fact, he says. The Southwest Precinct used to share it with another precinct, and is now without an official share of a “mobile precinct,” though if desperately needed, one could be borrowed from elsewhere. The captain says, however, it’s not what he considers the best use of police resources.
We just checked with the Seattle Police media unit, which is handling all information on Friday night’s Alki shooting (WSB coverage, plus extensive comment thread, here). A few new details, according to Sgt. Sean Whitcomb: For starters, the victim is 19 years old and is in “stable” condition. No further details on suspect descriptions or what exactly happened and why, but Sgt. Whitcomb did say: “We don’t believe this is a ‘stranger’ crime” and added that the Seattle Police Gang Unit is “lead” on the investigation (as reported Friday night, both the Gang and Homicide Units are involved). Watch for more followup information later.
This is one of the oddest cases we’ve heard about lately, and J & A – who e-mailed to tell the story – fully acknowledge it pales in comparison to some of what we’ve had to report on recently. Nonetheless, they do want to put out the alert about someone who came into their yard and did work without permission – damaging work at that – read on:Read More
Just posted at partner site White Center Now, the latest on the church cat that survived a vicious attack.
(scroll down for newest information and photos)
(top photo by David Hutchinson, middle was via cameraphone by Patrick Sand, third is a screengrab from Seacrest-area webcam showing medic unit there for shooting victim)
ORIGINAL 7:43 PM REPORT: We know for sure that there’s a major police response on Alki, an assault with weapons call on fire/medics, and there’s a lot of talk about the Pepperdock. Roads also are being blocked off. According to the scanner, police are looking for a suspect described as a black male, late teens, close-cropped hair, black T-shirt, with a black handgun, last seen running “southbound through Whale Tail Park,” possibly with at least one other person – didn’t catch that description. No word yet whether anyone has actually been hit/hurt by gunfire. We’ve got someone on the way there, while we’re also monitoring the scanner and e-mail/phone/etc. info here at WSB HQ. Police are reported to be talking to “multiple witnesses” – one has told police, according to the scanner, that three black males ran through the south end of Whale Tail (near the “Big Toy” play structure) after the shooting, two reported to be wearing “red wife-beater tank tops” and one “carrying one,” reportedly then getting into a “black SUV.”
7:53 PM UPDATE: A Twitter report says the shooting victim is actually at Seacrest – which explains why the fire/medic call is to 1600 Harbor, while the police search is up at the beach.
8:05 PM UPDATE: Co-publisher Patrick Sand is now at Alki – he is seeing K-9 officers searching in the Alki Elementary playground area – also, officers are diverting traffic southward, from the 60th/Admiral area. We also have a Twitter report that traffic headed toward Alki on Harbor Avenue is being diverted southbound onto Fairmount at Salty’s.
8:17 PM UPDATE: Added another photo atop this report, this time, showing police cars blocking Alki Ave near 59th. No word yet of any arrests. No word yet on the shooting victim’s condition, either, but the medic unit that was at Seacrest has headed off for Harborview Medical Center.
8:25 PM UPDATE: Via scanner – police are reopening Alki Ave to traffic, because they are “done processing the scene.” (A moment later, that was confirmed by police at the scene, who apparently will share some more information soon about exactly what happened.)
8:33 PM UPDATE: Alki’s David Hutchinson just sent more scene photos:
A Seattle Police media officer is on his way to the scene to brief media (us included), so we should have some new details when he arrives.
9:17 PM UPDATE: Officer Jeff Kappel has just briefed the media and Patrick called in with details: The victim, male in late teens, was outside Pepperdock with friends when someone opened fire from behind, shooting multiple times. No apparent argument or clash before the gunfire. Victim managed to make it across the street to the grassy area by the beach, friends then loaded him into a car and headed north on Alki Ave, police intercepted the car by Seacrest, which is where they then got him into a medic unit and took him to Harborview, where he’s being treated for what’s described as life-threatening injuries. Also: A second car was following the one with the shooting victim and friends; it has at least one bullet hole in it, so was impounded. All the people with the victim have been taken downtown for questioning as witnesses. K-9 search of immediate neighborhood didn’t turn up anything. But investigators will be at Alki “all night.” (We have the police briefing on video and will upload it as soon as Patrick gets back to HQ.)
9:49 PM UPDATE: Listening to the media-line recording that has since been updated, the circumstance has changed slightly — the person who opened fire was outside the Pepperdock but the victim was across the street, on the beach side. Police say that “homicide and gang detectives” will be at the scene investigating for some time to come. Still no information on the victim’s condition aside from the earlier report of “life-threatening injuries.”
10:30 PM UPDATE: The police summary is now on SPDBlotter – read it here. And here’s the entire, unedited four and a half minute briefing given at the scene by Detective Jeff Kappel from the media unit:
(video not available due to blip.tv shutdown)
5:15 AM SATURDAY: No new updates from police regarding the victim’s condition or any arrests. We did get a note from a witness describing what he saw and wanted to share that:
A friend and I were walking East/North on Harbor toward Slices, passing just in front of the mexican & thai restaurants (just west of Pepperdock) when the shots were fired (my friend heard 6 – 8, I heard more… like 10). My friend and I ducked behind the small trees there while some folks eating on the patio started heckling us for being spooked over some “fireworks.” As my friend and I got to the cross street, I saw what looked like two kids running south on the street (I’m 25… so they seriously looked like “kids”). There was a bit of confusion in the area as most people naively assumed fireworks was the cause of the disturbance, but as we crossed the street toward Slices, people were still looking back at the scene. Across the street in the grassy area, an african american male was down with his friends surrounding him. The boys looked thuggish (if anything could be said for the gang energy on Alki). These boys loaded their friend into the back of their black chevy impala (license plate 706 **K), and flipped a U-turn on harbor ave and screeched away. As you know, sunny friday’s are not conducive to speedy exits. They nearly ran over a family crossing the street while they tore off down the street. I saw a few of their friends run off down another street, but they could have just been running toward their car. The police arrived a few minutes later.
i spoke with an employee at Slices and she saw the shooter. She desribed him as a “kid” and thought it was a cap gun because he was firing “wildly” and it didn’t look like he was aiming at any thing as he was “shooting wildly” and “laughing.” What a scary scene.
11:15 AM SATURDAY: The latest official police “update” as of a few minutes ago was, “no new updates.” Just in case you were wondering. (5:37 pm note – we’ve been checking but still no updates)
The Southwest Precinct Public Safety Newsletter is out, and it includes burglary and scam prevention tips – read on:Read More
(surveillance camera photo from FBI, added 12:36 pm)
(photo added 12:01 pm)
ORIGINAL 11:45 AM REPORT: Happened within the past half-hour. Officer Mark Jamieson of Seattle Police says the call to police said the robber was described as male, white, maybe 40s, 5-8 to 5-11, thin build, with a beard, wearing a purple sweatshirt and brown knit cap. No one hurt; no word of whether he showed a weapon. A search is still under way in the area. More from the scene shortly.
12:11 PM UPDATE: Police are searching on the northeast side of The Junction as well, which explains the reports that Holy Rosary School is “in lockdown,” per trustable source in comments. Tilden School north of The Junction also reports being in lockdown as well, as does Hope Lutheran.
12:33 PM UPDATE: Just received the official news release from the Seattle FBI office:
The Key Bank at 4701 California Ave SW in West Seattle was robbed today at 11:12 am by a white male, 35-45 years of age, 5’8″-6′ tall, thin build, full beard and mustache, dirty appearance, wearing a purple knit cap and a purple hooded sweatshirt. He entered the bank through the east doors, approached the teller and presented a demand note. He did not display a weapon or imply that he had one. He was given money and he left the bank through the west doors and was last seen running northbound up the alley past Wells Fargo Bank.
Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 206 622-0460.
The FBI also sent photos – added one atop this report; here’s the other one:
Meantime, as noted in comments, the school lockdowns are ending.
4:49 PM UPDATE: Just checked with Seattle Police. No arrest so far.
Just heard from Anna, who wanted to share the news of a break-in at her house:
Just writing to report that my house was robbed yesterday afternoon. We live at 35th & Webster [map] and up until now thought our little area was pretty safe. It was done somewhere between 4:30 – 6:15 p.m. so a small window of time. This robbery doesn’t have the same feeling as some of the others I’ve read about on this site. No doors were kicked in, no broken windows, no ransacking – just a clean entry and all they took was my flat screen TV and a large tower cabinet containing close to 300 CDs. Decades of music collecting – gone. I’m a compulsive door locker so I’m still puzzled about how they got in without any damage. Of course, I have filed a police report and am talking to my insurance company today.
Concord Elementary is in South Park but it’s part of the West Seattle “region” of Seattle Public Schools, so some local families’ kids are there, and we’re sharing this: KIRO is reporting on a suspected “home invasion” nearby (800 block of South Henderson, kitty corner from the rear of the school; here’s a map), and because of the police investigation, the students at Concord are reported to be “sheltering in place.” Here’s the latest from KIRO, online.
12:19 PM UPDATE: Police are still searching the neighborhood, with K-9, according to live coverage that’s on right now. (Side note, South Park is part of the coverage area for police from West Seattle’s Southwest Precinct.)
2:16 PM: Seattle Public Schools spokesperson David Tucker confirms the “shelter in place” is over. We will work to find out the status of the investigation.
It’s been a busy few days, so you might not have seen this on partner site White Center Now yet: If you live in south West Seattle, you’ll be interested in the crime updates — which included some good news! — plus Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg‘s remarks, as reported in our coverage of the South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition meeting Thursday night. See the story here. (Also of interest to south West Seattle: The Highland Park Action Committee‘s monthly meeting is tomorrow, 7 pm, 11th/Holden.)
(previous as-it-happened coverage here)
8:13 PM BULLETIN: Just ended. More to come.
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
8:19 PM UPDATE: The standoff in Fauntleroy’s Endolyne business district lasted approximately 5 1/2 hours. According to our crews on the scene, it ended a few minutes ago as the suspect backed out of the house and surrendered, as police had been shouting through a bullhorn, asking him to do, for the past few hours. Just a short time earlier, police had said on the radio that they had re-established contact with him but he was “not cooperating.” WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand, who has been on the scene since even before the SWAT team arrived, says the man is well-dressed — wearing a tie and suspenders — and was taken to a medic unit that had been called to the scene a few hours ago to be on standby. We will have photos/video soon, but Patrick and WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli are still gathering more information now that the situation is over. Added: Seattle Police spokesperson Officer Renee Witt says the man was indeed, as we reported earlier, alone in the building. He says he was walking around with a shotgun – the sighting that touched off the standoff hours earlier – because he thought there were transients in the building. No evidence of transients, police say.
8:51 PM: That’s video of the man as police walked him around the corner toward the medic unit. (We don’t always show faces at arrest scenes, but we are following the rules implemented in all the conventional-media newsrooms in which we worked in recent years: Faces only if you are charged with the crime, confess to the crime, or there is no doubt you are the person who did what you are being arrested for – in other words, you are caught in the act – and that would apply here, with there being no doubt this is the man who held police at bay for 5-plus hours.)
9:06 PM: The last SWAT unit is leaving the scene, and traffic is moving through the area again. As we mentioned in our as-it-happened coverage, Endolyne Joe’s (which was behind the police line) decided to close for the night and send its staff home to be on the safe side, but should be open again for breakfast (and beyond) in the morning. Meantime, we are reviewing video shot at the scene earlier, to add a few more clips here from the 5-hour-plus standoff, and also will be watching the county jail register to see if the man arrested tonight shows up there.
9:54 PM: One thing that came up repeatedly during the standoff was the issue of the loud bangs heard several times, audible from some distance away – those were from devices police can choose to set off during situations in which they need to distract or confuse the person/s they are dealing with. WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli got two images related to the use of these – since police sent out a warning of sorts on the radio before setting them off, here’s an officer covering his ears, followed by some smoke in the air afterward:
You can also see some smoke clearing in this video clip, which also includes the sound of the bullhorn orders police were shouting at the suspect:
Here’s a clip of two of the vehicles the SWAT team brought to Fauntleroy this afternoon:
SUNDAY NIGHT NOTE: As of 10:55 pm Sunday, no one by the name we believe to be that of the arrested man has been booked into King County Jail. We will be checking with Seattle Police first thing in the morning to see if they have information on whether he is still in the hospital or whether he was released.
(scroll down for newest photos, info)
ORIGINAL 2:47 PM REPORT: Checking on multiple reports (thanks for the calls and e-mails) of major police activity in the Endolyne business district area of Fauntleroy. We’re told roads are blocked off in the area. One neighbor describes the scene: “Multiple cop cars cutting off every street in my neighborhood and police with guns drawn running around especially up by the bakery/restaurant.” We’re heading down the hill now to find out what’s going on.
2:59 PM: Still no official information as it is a very chaotic scene but two citizen reports suggest it involves a suspect who may have a gun. So DEFINITELY avoid the area TFN. We can’t get close from the west side so we’re going around the other way. Scanner indicates special units are being used here including SWAT (en route if not there yet) – a negotiator is apparently on the scene. Scanner says suspect has told police no one else is with him.
3:22 PM UPDATE: An officer at the scene told us the person they’re all focused on is believed to be in the alley behind Endolyne Joe’s. The SWAT team has just arrived — adding a photo in a moment.
3:54 PM UPDATE: No major updates from the scene. Police all in position, though some of them have moved around. Scanner traffic within the past several minutes indicated the suspect was still talking via phone with police. And on a practical note, this is affecting traffic toward and from the ferry dock AND traffic between Fauntleroy and Marine View Drive/west Arbor Heights, so keep that in mind.
4:12 PM UPDATE: To further clarify, co-publisher Patrick Sand, who’s our reporter/photographer on the scene right now, says he’s been told the suspect is in a 2-story apartment building on the alley behind Endolyne Joe’s. Just in case that helps you further figure out where all this is unfolding. Adding a photo – note we are cropping our SWAT team photos as it’s important in standoff situations not to show police’s exact positions, lest a suspect be monitoring media (of any kind):
4:36 PM UPDATE: Police are now using a bullhorn to try to get the suspect to re-establish contact. From comments (if you haven’t read it there already), Rick is at the scene and forced to stay at his workplace while the standoff continues:
I’m at work in the middle of this, i’m inside the taped area, my office wall adjacent to this alley. There are a handful of swat patrol guys with machine guns outside my window. I tried to leave and they told me to go back inside and wait. I’m watching from my window…
WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli is also now at the scene, which we have covered from both sides. (After arriving, he took the next photo, added Saturday evening:)
5:30 PM UPDATE: No major developments. Standoff still under way. Police still trying to get suspect to re-establish contact. The loud noises you hear are being made by police, deliberately, we can verify. There are still conflicting anecdotal reports from the scene whether anyone was believed to be in the house with the man.
6:01 PM UPDATE: Again, we’re not doing play-by-play from the scene because (as discussed in comments) there are some details that it’s safer not to report publicly while these situations are unfolding. Police are still using a bullhorn to try to get the man to respond; the building he’s believed to be in is the 4-plex immediately west of the commercial building at 45th/Wildwood.
6:09 PM UPDATE: SPD spokesperson Officer Renee Witt just confirmed to us – after we called to triplecheck – that what we have been reporting for hours is accurate: NO HOSTAGES.
7:10 PM UPDATE: Status quo at the scene. In news of nearby businesses, we called Endolyne Joe’s to see if they were planning to be open IF this ends before too long, and Mike told us no, they just decided a short time ago to send everybody home, to be on the safe side. So they are closed for the rest of the night, no matter what. Kitty-corner in the same intersection, though, people are coming and going from Guadalajara – that’s on the other side of the police tape.
7:38 PM UPDATE: Police at least briefly heard from the suspect for the first time in a while, according to the scanner. And without going into further detail, let’s just say this could go on for quite some time. Just saying that so if you live in the area and have been waiting to make your plans for the evening based on whether this might end sometime soon, you can plan otherwise. We will probably start a new story for evening updates on this, since there’s another story we’ve been holding off on publishing to keep this atop the page; when we do that, we will add the URL here, but till you see that, we’ll add any new info here.
8:12 PM UPDATE: It’s over – the man came out and surrendered. Starting a separate post to cover that. Find it here.
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