West Seattle, Washington
01 Monday
(updated info, photos, video being added frequently to the bottom of this post – as well as comments with new info and links – thanks to everyone for helping co-create the updates, and keep refreshing)
(photo added 11:43 am, TV crew shooting door at original robbery scene @ Wells Fargo)
ORIGINAL POST: Just in from Seattle Police: A bank robbery in the 2300 block of California; the suspect was in a brown wig, sunglasses, black mask, black dress, police are looking for a “black Jeep Cherokee driven by a black male.” Call 911 with any tips. (Address check suggests that’s Wells Fargo; we’re headed that way to find out more.) 10:48 AM UPDATE: Confirmed on scene, it’s Wells Fargo, with a note on the door saying they’re temporarily closed for “an emergency.” (photo below added at 12:09 pm) We’re told by a nearby businessperson that one suspect may have been caught on The Bridge – checking that with police – might explain why only one patrol car is at bank.
11 AM UPDATE: Police confirm two suspects have been caught, outside West Seattle – one on Yesler, one on Spring.
11:05 AM UPDATE: Playing out in the comments right now – there’s been a gunbattle of some sort downtown. As a result, traffic is backing up on The Viaduct since it’s in the Seneca vicinity – avoid heading that way if you can. We’re now listening to the scanner and you’re going to want to avoid Spring/Seneca entirely, judging by what we’re hearing. Will continue updating as we hear more.
11:13 AM UPDATE: Scanner is talking about at least one person having been shot. Channel 7 tv has some aerial coverage right now. Our field crew is back out at the Wells Fargo branch where this all started, and Channel 4 has a crew there too. More to come.
11:21 AM UPDATE: Can’t stress enough, stay away from this part of downtown – sounds like absolute chaos/gridlock down there with so many police units involved, streets blocked off, etc. Channel 7 speculates that the shooting victim in an aid car is one of the suspects.
11:30 AM UPDATE: Citywide media is now swarming the original bank-robbery scene at Admiral/California – KING’s chopper sighted as well as somebody in a channel 13 jacket. Still awaiting a briefing there.
11:37 AM UPDATE: Some of the restrictions downtown are being loosened – we”re hearing pedestrians will soon be allowed through part of the area closed down (2nd/3rd/Seneca/Spring seems to be the epicenter of all the downtown activity).
11:49 AM UPDATE: Police have decided to do a combined briefing downtown with info about this robbery and the downtown shootings. We will monitor that and post updates here. Should also have more visuals from robbery scene (including interview with nearby witness) shortly. That witness told us that the robbers parked their vehicle on the California side at the bus stop – the side shown in this photo we just received from WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli:
12:08 PM UPDATE: TV reports that the area downtown is likely to be cordoned off a few more hours – so for those who work downtown or were planning to go there, beware.
12:26 PM UPDATE: This link just added in comments from “Fort Cloudy” – video where you can reportedly hear the shots (we haven’t had a chance yet to view it ourselves).
12:31 PM UPDATE: Thanks to Patrick for sending this cameraphone photo from downtown – looking down at one of the areas where you can see multiple police vehicles:
12:40 PM UPDATE: Thanks to Charles Moore for this pic from downtown:
12:52 PM UPDATE: Listening to SPD media officer Mark Jamieson recounting what happened – robbery at Wells Fargo was 10:10 am – officers “located the vehicle as it was leaving West Seattle” and “followed” it to Capitol Hill where in Broadway/Yesler vicinity, one suspect got out (and was arrested), then vehicle went back downtown where officers tried to get the second suspect to leave the vehicle, he didn’t, they opened fire. Jamieson does not know the condition of that suspect, who is being treated at Harborview for gunshot wound(s) – when we heard the scanner traffic earlier, it sounded like at least one bullet had hit him in the neck. No other major injuries reported, possibly one person hurt by flying glass during the downtown shooting. We also just heard scanner traffic about the “dye pack” from the robbery but didn’t hear where.
1:02 PM UPDATE: Police say that they will keep the block around the shooting scene downtown – approx. 1st/Spring – closed for at least a few hours. The Wells Fargo branch back here in West Seattle at California/Admiral is expected to be closed for the rest of the day. Next door at Museum Quality Framing, Robert (who didn’t want to give his last name) saw the robber – though he didn’t realize that’s what was happening, as he says people park in the bus stop area all the time – here’s part of his interview with several media crews (including WSB):
Robert didn’t think the suspect was wearing a dress; looked to him more like “baggy pants.” Meantime, the P-I notes this branch has been robbed a few times before; here’s an archive story from 2006.
1:31 PM UPDATE: We are going to start posting some other news atop the page (jumping after the first line so this story doesn’t move too far down) but we will continue to update this post when new information is available, particularly any updates on downtown traffic – since the commute is just a few hours away. We are also monitoring the citywide media sources that are also covering this story so that if someone else reports a significant development we will add a note about it (with attribution, of course!) here.
1:37 PM UPDATE: No sooner do we say that, when Sharonn Meeks sends some photos from downtown, where she says there’s still a “lot of activity” centering on 1st and Spring – including onlookers (second shot):
2:22 PM UPDATE: One TV crew left at robbery scene when last we went by (channel 4; they do news at 4 pm). Channel 7 has posted its raw downtown aerial video online, about 8 minutes worth, which started even before police opened fire on the vehicle; see it here.
2:39 PM UPDATE: The police media unit has posted an update with a full summary of this morning’s events. Noteworthy details include the fact they’re definitely calling the Wells Fargo stickup “a takeover-style robbery” in which the robber was armed and ordered everyone down on the floor, also the fact the suspect who was still in the car by the time it got down had shown a handgun repeatedly before officers opened fire. The one who was arrested earlier had gotten out of the vehicle at 1st and Yesler after the vehicle had traveled onto I-5 from the West Seattle Bridge (NOT onto The Viaduct? eyewitness reports seem to dispute that) and is being “processed” before expected booking into the King County Jail, according to the update from media unit Officer Renee Witt, who also says the officers iinvolved in the shooting were three Seattle Police officers “from various precincts” and one King County sheriff’s deputy, all described as “veteran” officers. No word so far on the condition of the robbery suspect who was shot in the neck. (We will watch the online jail register to see if we can get some info on the non-injured suspect.)
3:19 PM UPDATE: Times says the suspect who was shot is in critical condition.
3:59 PM UPDATE: Sharonn Meeks advises Spring Street is still closed between 1st and 2nd. The city is not expecting to issue official road-closure updates since it’s still a police scene, but we are monitoring traffic reports so we can tell you what we’re hearing – those of you who are downtown, your updates will be helpful too.
4:12 PM UPDATE: The Times says the FBI has identified the two suspects – 50-year-old Douglas Michael Cox and 43-year-old Kevin V. Palmer. We’re checking publicly available databases to see if either has West Seattle ties; Palmer has voter registration – from 2000; his reported convictions must have been later – linked to a South Seattle address. Not finding Cox yet. (He is the one who was shot.)
4:59 PM UPDATE: According to the King County Jail register, Kevin V. Palmer’s full name is Kevin Vernett Palmer. Meantime, the shooting scene downtown is still closed to traffic.
5:12 PM UPDATE: In addition to being booked for investigation of robbery and eluding, Palmer is also being held for a “failure to appear” warrant in another case. The records of that case aren’t available via the online source we use, so we don’t have details. Meantime it looks like Cox’s background traces mostly to Eastern Washington, so we’re still not finding West Seattle links to either suspect prior to today’s heist.
7:03 PM UPDATE: Not having much luck finding out if the scene downtown has reopened yet, so unless word comes in within the next 15 minutes or so, we’re probably just going to head down and check for ourselves. Channel 5, meantime, reported in the 6:30 news that one of the suspects had barely been out of prison a month after another bank-robbery conviction. Their online report also says the FBI is now saying the robber was NOT wearing a dress (if you scroll back up to our video clip with Robert at the frame shop next door, he said it was baggy pants, not a dress).
8:14 PM UPDATE: We’re downtown and the scene’s clear, Spring St. is open again. Two TV trucks and one police unit in sight, but no other obvious evidence of what happened earlier today.
Two separate incidents – but both came to us first as reader reports (police reports have been filed too) from neighbors who want to alert you. First, Michael sent his report with this photo – we debated putting it behind a jump but it’s not particularly gory – just distressing, considering what his kitty is recovering from:
I live on 25th Ave SW one block off of Delridge between Hudson and Brandon. My cat was shot in the hindquarter with either a BB gun or pellet rifle. (see attached pictures) I just wanted to put the word out in case anyone else’s pet has suffered this class C felony and wanted to warn the neighborhood to watch out for their pets.
Not long after Michael’s report came in, we got this forwarded by Sheila in High Point, who also wanted to put it out as an alert to neighbors:
On Monday June 23 some kids were chasing a injured pigeon that was shot with a BB gun. A neighbor caught that pigeon and I called the Seattle animal shelter and it was picked up the next day. [An officer] said if we see anything, call the shelter at 206-386-7387. Nothing was done to the kids since we didn’t see who shot the pigeon.
Saturday night (28th) another neighbor was walking [in the 30th & Graham area] and found another pigeon. This one was dead and there was a small hole with blood, it had appeared to be shot. I called the animal shelter Sunday morning and told them what happened. They said since I didn’t see it happen they cannot do anything about it. Please keep a look out for kids with a BB gun and please report it to the police (911).
Thanks to Christopher Bell for sending the link — the case wasn’t on our radar: The P-I reports a man was found guilty yesterday in the deadly shooting of 14-year-old David Chhin, who was shot in August 2003 while riding his bike at 35th/Juneau. (Coincidentally, just five blocks west of there, at High Point Pond Park at 11 this morning, the community is gathering for a Youth Blessing Ceremony, in hopes this summer will be a peaceful one.)
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Karen:
I wanted to let you know that there was a burglary in our Blockwatch area today, in the 5000 block of 35th Ave SW, mid-block, on the west side of the street. It occurred sometime between 7:00 AM & 5:30 PM while the owners were gone. The burglars entered through a window & took small electronics & other things that are easy to carry.
Our Blockwatch area covers a two block area just south of Providence/Mt. St. Vincent, between Dawson & Hudson streets. It is called the Hansen View neighborhood, which is part of Fairmount.
Thanks for getting the word out!
Just out of the WSB inbox from Kendall:
I feel somewhat silly reporting this. It seems so trivial compared to the serious crime reported on the blog, but my wife and I both had flat tires this morning. Apparently, we have some “harmless” vandals in the neighborhood-the north Admiral neighborhood. This is the second time it has happened in the last two months. The perpetrators flattened one tire per car and were even so kind as to replace the valve stem caps before scurrying off into the darkness. We do not know if these have been random acts or if we are the targets of someone’s ill will.
The first time it happened, my wife assumed (as anyone would) that it was a flat tire and not merely a deflated tire. She took it to Barnecut’s to have it repaired. Of course, they could find no leak. The young man working that day mentioned that there had been other people in the neighborhood with the same problem and suggested that it was some bored kids. Other than his saying so, we have no idea if this is the case.
The first incident happened several weeks ago and we imagined it an isolated event. This morning we were surprised to find both of our cars with flat tires. We park in the alley behind our house. Although it is just one block off California Avenue, it is a quiet, dead end alley. To the best of our knowledge, our nearby neighbors are not experiencing this problem.
It’s not the end of the world, but it is not fun to come out to your car in the morning and find a flat tire. Luckily, we have an air compressor so the vandals are not creating as much trouble for us as they imagine. I am sure our neighbors don’t appreciate my need to run the compressor at 7:00 AM, but at least we can solve the problem without putting on a spare.
Of course, we are thankful that they are not puncturing the tires, breaking into the cars, or engaging in some more seriously damaging activity, but it is a nuisance.
We don’t really have a clear understanding of whether the architects of this annoyance are targeting us directly or if this is a rash in our neighborhood. We’d like to think that we are random victims. We’re nice people and have done nothing to warrant this kind of special attention.
We are just wondering if anyone else in the neighborhood has experienced the same problem.
Just out of the WSB inbox, from BG:
Yesterday (6/22) an attempted burglary was successfully thwarted on the 9000 block of 13th Avenue SW [map]. At approximately noon on Sunday, I was in my home office when I noticed three youths engaging in suspicious activity across the street in my neighbor’s driveway. With one youth serving as a lookout, the other two removed the screen from our neighbor’s kitchen window and attempted to enter the house. The neighbors were away for the weekend.
I immediately called 911 and police arrived in time to apprehend one of the suspects. Two suspects escaped and were not apprehended. I was shocked by the brazen attempt to burglarize our neighbor’s home in broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon. These three juveniles have been recently observed by others in the area looking into cars and appearing to case houses. I urge you to keep an eye out for them in your neighborhood. Their physical descriptions are as follows:
1. Female, juvenile (14 – 17 yrs. old), African American, approx 5’ 5’’, stocky build. Short hair, worn in a bun in the back of the head. Last seen wearing tight blue jeans, and a tight black top.
2. Male, juvenile (14 – 17 yrs. old), African American, approx 5’ 8’’, muscular build. Last seen wearing baggy shorts, a dark oversized coat, and an orange knit stocking cap.
3. Male, juvenile (14 – 17 yrs. old), African American, approx 5’ 10’’, muscular build. Last seen wearing baggy shorts, a dark oversized coat, and a red baseball cap.These three juveniles work as a team. The female has been observed walking in our neighborhood on the more than one occasion, and serves as a lookout for the male juveniles. Vigilance made the difference on our block yesterday and the West Seattle Blog deserves credit for making us all more aware of suspicious activity in our neighborhood.
And in turn we hat-tip to West Seattle’s police force at the Southwest Precinct, which is trailblazing for the whole city by aggressively advocating this kind of watchfulness and repeatedly reminding us all not to hesitate calling 911 for ANY kind of suspicious activity as it happens. If a life’s not at risk, the response time depends on what else is going on, but as we were reminded in a recent chat with precinct leaders, thorough and complete crime reports at the very least help them decide where to best deploy their people when they’re planning schedules and emphasis patrols.
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Tiffany D:
Just wanted to put the word out. Someone broke into one of our vehicles (again!!) which was parked in our driveway on 41st Ave. SW (near the high school) They started rummaging, but I think may have been scared off. Nothing appears to have been taken. This same vehicle was stolen (and recovered) about two years ago. Another car of ours has been repeatedly broken into over the years.
We’re thinking of printing up signs and put in the cars that say “Aren’t you bored of us yet? Nothing new here.”
Anyway – keep the doors locked and aware.
Photos at Beach Drive Blog — damage includes a bench, greenery, and sign. We were up late and saw a “heavy rescue” call on the 911 log for 4520 Beach, but it closed shortly after the initial 3:40 am call, and scanner traffic didn’t suggest anything major going on, so we didn’t go; it was followed by an aid call for almost the same address 22 minutes later.
That’s King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, talking about one of the budget cuts she may have to make if the county’s budget picture still looks ugly by fall; she says the thought of having to stop investigating certain kinds of crimes makes her “sick.” She spoke Friday night at SeaTac City Hall, in one of several public meetings she’s called to talk about potential effects of massive budget cuts ordered by county leadership; the possible cuts in the criminal-justice system could affect West Seattle not only through services the county provides for the city such as prosecution, but also because many of the cuts would have to be made in the ranks that serve unincorporated areas such as White Center, right next door. But the first headline of the night for West Seattle interests was what the sheriff had to say when asked about the jail-sites situation – and that’s where our full report begins;Read More
First: Thanks to Pokey for posting this in the comments section of our last update: The Times says the two 16-year-old boys and one 17-year-old girl arrested in the Tuesday night attack are charged with assault and obstruction of justice, and the one who tried to take away the officer’s gun is also charged with attempting to disarm an officer. Will try to find out what the possible sentencing range would be for juveniles convicted of those charges. Second: The High Point Neighborhood website has posted a statement from High Point (Seattle Housing Authority) management, saying “… the tenants involved … appear to be in serious violation of the lease” and promising “swift action” against those tenants.
… and so would either of the other two jail sites, for that matter. Sheriff Sue Rahr was asked about the jail controversy during the meeting she called tonight in SeaTac to talk about possible massive budget cuts in the county’s criminal-justice system. She says it’s her “personal opinion as your elected sheriff” that the county should “build out” the Regional Justice Center in Kent instead and that cities shouldn’t be in the jail business, period. More on that, and what else she had to say about the possible cuts – which could affect everyone in King County, though particularly our White Center neighbors for whom the county provides on-the-street law enforcement — when we write up our full report later tonight. Side note, lovely view from the south side of the SeaTac City Hall parking lot:
As mentioned in our first report on this, the meeting’s not in West Seattle, but many of these possible county cuts affect public safety/criminal justice in our area (as well as on-the-street law enforcement in neighboring White Center) so it’s an important issue for West Seattle as well: King County Sheriff Sue Rahr‘s public meeting about the situation she headlines as “Public Safety in Peril” is 6 pm tonight at SeaTac City Hall (map/get directions). Read the full meeting notice (including toplines on possible cuts) here.
We’re at the Southwest Precinct, where — after the Delridge District Council meeting wrapped up (details on that later) — we got to see the early draft of the report on last night’s High Point incident that left a police officer badly hurt. Here are the basics:Read More
It’s the last time we’ll be able to tell you about the West Seattle Community Safety Partnership … because its monthly meeting tonight at the Southwest Precinct ended with a new name. That and other info from the meeting, ahead:Read More
Alki’s David Hutchinson just sent these photos along with this report:
I don’t know the cause but just before 7 pm a very large group of teens (50+) came running down 59th SW and headed west down Alki Ave towards Spud. They climbed over fences and trampled the flowers in front of Spud. Several climbed onto the roof of a white car parked in front of Spuds and then stomped up and down on the hood (see attached photos of the damage).
Here’s David’s other photo:
Not sure if we will be able to get followup from the Southwest Precinct before tomorrow (we will see if the rest of the team can find out anything from the police reps at the Community Safety Partnership meeting that’s under way now) — ironically, the briefing we attended at City Hall this afternoon largely focused on the fact that Alki is the traditional “area of emphasis” for police now that it’s summer, and they are responding to many more incidents detected “on-view” (in person) than are reported via 911 — which as Councilmember Tim Burgess noted, is the way community policing is supposed to be done. (More details on that briefing later; first we’re writing up the parks-levy hearing, which just concluded after two hours — twice as long as it was scheduled for.)
ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: May or may not be related but definitely a case of Alki vandalism if not possibly also “car prowl” — Chris took this photo of a car parked by Whale Tail this morning with its windows smashed out:
Five people now have been arrested for the break-in early yesterday at West Seattle HS (original WSB report here, followed by a comment explaining that “the burglars stole items from our special-education students”). Sgt. Jeff Durden at the Southwest Precinct just provided these details: “During the initial incident, one arrest was made of an adult West Seattle High school student. He brought the four other other West Seattle High students into the SW Precinct around 2 pm yesterday. All of the student/suspects are cooperating with both detectives and the school. All property is in the process of being returned.”
Before we get to the latest highlights of reports from the Southwest Precinct, we wanted to mention you have two chances today to hear from Captain Joe Kessler, who has been running the SWP for more than two months now (we first caught up with him on his first day in the office, April 9th): At 2 pm today, he and other SW Precinct leaders will be at City Hall downtown to brief the City Council’s Public Safety, Human Services, and Education Committee on crime trends and other issues/achievements in our area; you can watch live on the Seattle Channel (on-air or online), and we’ll be there to cover it, too. 
Then tonight at 7 pm, Capt. Kessler will be at the monthly West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting — which always includes an all-star lineup of local police leaders, but he hasn’t had a chance to join them yet. This is also the monthly meeting where you can come ask police about any concerns in your neighborhood; a new name likely will be chosen before the night’s out, too (here’s our report on previous suggestions); you can see the agenda here — including a list of phone numbers you might want to keep handy for neighborhood nuisances as well as crime-related problems. Now, on to a few notable incidents from reports processed over the last several days (there’s often a day or more of lag time, so this doesn’t include incidents from most of Sunday, or Monday), including two scam reports and the latest home/car break-ins:Read More
Just in from Molly, who’s also of course alerting police:
Just a few minutes ago (4:14 to be exact) I was driving up Fairmount Avenue from the beach when my windshield was hit by a water balloon. It wasn’t from the bridge above as I was more south than that. Just wanted to let you know…
And this sort of thing isn’t exactly harmless child’s play, as noted in a similar report we published two months ago.
Police confirm a break-in early this morning at West Seattle High School – Victoria tells WSB there was quite the commotion on her section of Walnut between about 3:30 am and 5:30 am, when a car apparently related to the investigation was finally towed; Lt. Steve Paulsen at the Southwest Precinct says one “adult” was arrested and they suspect “some seniors (were) involved as well.” Thanks also to Todd for pointing out this brief online citywide-media report, which suggests the burglars had targeted computer equipment.
Two more reports to share from the WSB inbox:Read More
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Susan, who hopes you’ll keep an eye out for the unusual items stolen from her:
Bummed to report that my house (off Charlestown near Schmitz Park) was broken into yesterday. Came home from work to discover a slashed screen, window popped out of place. They must have been on foot because all they took were the contents of my change jar and a little safe.
I’m bummed about the safe–and the burglars are going to be bummed, too–because it held all the spare change from my travels around the world. Which is to say, if the burglars thought they were getting another pile of
quarters, they are sorely mistaken, as they got a bunch of coins from around the world, coins that the bank won’t even convert back to U.S. currency. Sentimental value only.The safe was a gift–it was made out of an old P.O. box. I’m picturing it on the side of the road somewhere; or perhaps dumped in Schmitz Park. If any of your readers find a small old PO box safe, please put them in touch! [WSB note: E-mail or call us if you see it]
And hurrah for my neighbors, who saw the commotion (three police cars responded) and came over to check in on me.
Though this is from the King County Sheriff, whose crimefighting turf starts just over the line in White Center, it’s part of a larger county criminal-justice-funding concern that in the end could affect us all – since, for example, it’s county prosecutors who handle city crimes too – so we wanted to share this announcement of an upcoming public meeting you might want to attend:Read More
The WSB inbox has been devoid of first-person crime reports lately, so when we dropped by the Southwest Precinct this afternoon to check the latest police reports, we asked Lt. Steve Paulsen if things are indeed as quiet as they seem. Not entirely crime-free, as you’ll see in this report, but yes (knock wood), it’s been relatively quiet. After more than a dozen burglary arrests, for example, they think the word’s starting to get out on the street that you’re not so likely to get away with it in West Seattle. That said, we’ve got some summaries to share, including burglaries and car break-ins as well as the search for a man who tried to lure a girl into his car, gang-affiliated squatters getting the boot, more cases of alert witnesses helping foil crimes, and more – all from a full week’s worth of reports:Read More
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