Today at noon there was a shooting event in the 100 block of 26th Ave, near the corner of 26th & Yesler. We published the scanner report for it in real time, but it was a fairly chaotic situation. Here’s what we know now:
At 12:02pm several witnesses, including a delivery truck driver, saw two black males shooting into a white van parked on 26th Ave. Reports of 5-7 gunshots were also reported by a nearby officer and several 911 callers. Witnesses told police that the suspects, two young black males, ran northbound on 26th.
I spoke to SPD’s Mark Jamieson, who confirmed that police searched the area and detained one possible suspect. However, he could not be positively identified by witnesses. He was taken into custody for further questioning and was later released.
A loaded gun was recovered by police in the area of the shooting and was taken in as evidence.
Police patrols of the block revealed at least one townhouse at the corner of 26th & Yesler was hit by gunfire, striking a second floor window. No one was found injured after the incident.
I almost bought one of those townhouses, but I backed out when I realized there was a crack house next door (the same guys mentioned here). I feel sorry for anyone who lives on that block.
It’s frustrating to me that the witnesses couldn’t ID the shooters. Do the police need to publish a how-to sheet for this? I realize that when you hear shots you’re probably ducking, but try to remember /something/ useful. Shirt color? Shoes? It’s absurd that you can shoot (or stab!) someone in full view of witnesses and get away with it.
Witnesses did have a basic description of the suspects, including race, age, and a description of clothing. When a possible suspect was detained the witnesses were brought over to ID him, but they said it wasn’t the same guy.
Police were actually on the scene very quickly, but weren’t able to catch the suspects. There was a lot of conflicting information about the suspect’s direction of travel and other basic facts as the event was unfolding.
My guess is that the suspects live right in the area there and ducked into a house before police arrived.
I live near this corner and a good friend owns one of the townhouses that was hit with gunfire. Actually both townhouses on fronting Yesler were hit as well as the house on the other corner too. Report was that the shooters were firing from recently vacant lot at 27th & Yesler towards 26th. Fortunately, no one in the houses were harmed.
The crack house was successfully shut down this past summer and from what we understood people were sent to jail. Perhaps they are out now, but activity has been down to nothing compared to before the bust.