A large brawl broke out inside the Starbucks at 23rd and Jackson Saturday. According to Seattle Crime, a large group of teens began to fight inside the coffee chain, clearing out the customers.
Two groups of teens cleared out a Central District Starbucks this weekend during a large brawl, according to Seattle police.
According to SPD spokesman Mark Jamieson, the fight apparently started when a large group of teenagers got off a Metro bus at 23rd and Jackson around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, and entered a Starbucks on the corner.
Inside, the first group “had a disagreement” with a large group of girls, leading to the melee, Jamieson says, adding that approximately 25 people were involved in the brawl.
At some point during fight, one of the brawlers used a can of pepper spray, which cleared out the coffee shop.
UPDATE: TristanW and her husband CDN readers were in the Starbucks when it happened and gave this first-hand account:
The store was crowded with people, my husband and I felt lucky that we got a table to sit at and play cards. We had been there maybe twenty minutes…maybe when the large group rushed in. One girl attacked another not three feet from where I was sitting holding my three month old son. While my husband stood to block them I got him out of the store, luckily right before a couple of them decided to pepper spray the entire place. Since I ran out ahead of time my son and I were fine but I missed alot of what happened inside.
My husband was ill from the pepper spray, I feel very lucky that I had decided to get outside before the spray happened, but I was also really worried for the other people inside. Ages from teens to elderly were present. The police came very quickly, though I still dont know if any arrests were made.
was anyone arrested?
Make sure to check out this eyewitness report on the brawl:
http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2011/01/31/saturday-eveni
And some notes on how we get information.
The area could really use more nice places to get together and hang out. It is hard because of savage teenagers ruining the neighborhood for themselves and others.
It is worth walking to Soho cafe on yesler – its away from the bus stop and some of the uncivilized behavior you can have on 23rd.
While I like Soho, this seems an overreaction. For many years Starbucks has been a safe and pleasant place for coffee (not necessarily my favorite coffee), and if this type of logic is to be used then all of us could investigate any incidents that have occurred in any area including the one around Soho. Starbucks was the first one to come to the CD with coffee. In this case it did not push others out, but seemed to inspire others to give the area a try.
It is very sad that this type of logic is used to hurt any business due to a one-time incident.
Joanna- I was a part of the neighborhood group which lobbied hard for Starbucks to come, back in the days when that corner was a grass lot full of trash, drug debris and, at one point, a dead body. It was great when Starbucks came, followed by a whole business community at that intersection, ending the blight on the corner. Let’s be honest, however. When you call this a one time incident, well, that’s not honest. There is constant, constant crime on that corner and in the surrounding blocks as you head south. I go to that Starbucks every morning, and this past year alone have encountered people fighting, gunshots at the bus stop, road rage galore in the parking lot, the bank was robbed twice, and some lady was wandering through the parking lot screaming and yelling with her breasts exposed a few months back. Let’s be honest here. It’s a better corner than it used to be, but it’s still a spot rife with crime and craziness.
that Starbucks seems safe and well-managed and busy. I was a little disturbed by the recommendation of another specific spot when one spot has an undesirable incident. I am usually on that particular corner at the most once a week, not as often as I used to be, but I know that at least some of what you are saying is true. I live much closer to 23rd and E.Union, but when my kids were at Washington and Garfield I was there almost everyday. I also know that the bus stop was a place where students were often robbed of various electronic devices. Maybe the problems on that corner should be more often highlighted with the East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition.
Garfield high school parents:
I see your parenting style has been super effective. How many belts have you gone through? You need to have a chat with your kids. “Son, you are the reason the Central District sucks fucking balls. Learn how to solve your problems without tear gassing a Starbucks or beating someone in a bus tunnel.” Gentrification isn’t what you should be concerned about. You should be concerned about your dumb fucking kids who are acting like chimps on some deluded power trip, probably because their role models are all pretend criminals.
I’ve been to this Starbucks a few times, it’s not a regular stop by any means, but to suggest not going there because of some of these recent incidents just ignores the problem. Police presence would probably be the easiest way to keep the crime down but educating these kids/parents would be another way to help incidents like this from happening. In speaking with local police officers, the one thing you don’t want to do is ignore the problem – say hi to everyone, smile, make friends.
The crime problems in the neighborhood existed even when Garfield was shut down for 2 years. It’s not just kids (plenty of whom go to Franklin, by the way). Wise parents don’t let their kids anywhere near 23rd and Jackson after dark. Wise adults stay away as well. The crime in that neighborhood has been relentless for decades, which is why after 20 years living just off of 25th and Jackson I moved 1.5 miles north. And now it’s like living in a different world. A much more peaceful, less plagued by scammers, criminals and druggies world. The 23rd and Jackson neighborhood wont change until the people who live in the area stop housing and nurturing generations of criminals. I couldn’t wait any longer and moved.
Joe – There is a police presence. Look on top of the Hollywood video building next to Starbucks. There are 2 police cars hiding up there on just about any given day. At 3pm when Washington Middle School lets out there is a cop stationed in Starbucks. THAT is how much crime goes on there. Short of hiring private security, they’ve got plenty of presence. And as for smiling and making friends, I go to that Starbucks every day because it’s convenient. The regulars all smile and say hello. None of that friendliness would have stopped this incident.
Here, I said students were robbed. I didn’t say the students robbed anyone. A vast majority of the teenagers and the citizens in the area are great. Yes, it is the few adults and teenagers who can make an area look undesirable.
I can’t wait for the replys but I will say it again. It is a containment zone. Would a shop at 45th and Wallingford have thos e problems, no. They would not because the criminals in the neighborhood would have been removed. It still has not happened here yet and it will not because no other neighborhood wants it to move to their neighborhood, town or city.
My kid goes to GHS and would never be a part of that sort of behavior. Why? Because her parents are involved, invested, and pay attention. Time and involvement, being held accountable, having high expectations set for them, and adults who help them meet and exceed those expectations – that is what teens need. Without those things, they are likely to be lost and we’ve seen where that gets them.
I challenge everyone who complains about the youth in the area to become involved in a youth outreach program, tutor students, volunteer at a nonprofit that works with kids and teens – SOMETHING. Even if it’s just reading at the elementary school once a month, or coaching a basketball team at GCC…something. You will be surprised at how an hour of your time a week can impact a group of at risk youth. Get involved and see what a difference that can make.
Should we have to do this? No. Should the parents be doing it? Yes. But a lot of them won’t or don’t know how to. Cycles repeat and someone needs to step in and help break those cycles. Sometimes that means you and me.
You hear that kids/teens/adults, you are all chimps, no matter if you were there or not, you are still a chimp to Stimpy, eyes and C. Painting with a broad stroke is awesome. Ignorance knows no color Stimpy!
Lots of Cops: so how do you propose we solve this problem? You’ve specifically mentioned cops hiding out a couple of hours out of the day but an incident like this still occurs. Maybe private security IS the solution, but what else? I don’t claim to be any sort of detective but I’ve lived in very urban areas in NY, SF, etc and things like this DO get cleaned up. It’s certainly not immediate but if 42nd Street in NYC can clean up, so can this corner.
Color? Did I say “look like?” No, I said “act like.” Read what I wrote, not what you think I must believe. You don’t know anything about me, don’t act like you do. There are a lot of things out of our control. Whatever social services we have now, we are going to have less. What we do have control over, no matter how fucked over we are, no matter how culturally brainwashed we are, is our own actions. These kids may have less opportunity by default, in some unfortunate systematic way, but they actually have had all the opportunity in the world, just like everyone else. If they think their lives are worthless or that factors they aren’t responsible for are stacked against them so much that it isn’t worth trying, well that’s a bummer, but the problem is when their antisocial behavior affects other people, like the people in that Starbucks. That cannot be tolerated.
I didn’t even favor the “chimps” trolling with a response so please don’t attribute approval of that comment to me, TruthinWords.
“What we do have control over, no matter how fucked over we are, no matter how culturally brainwashed we are, is our own actions.” Completely true.
Trolling? Not really.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimpanzee#Social_structure
If the shoe fits…
Look or act like, you associated that with everyone in the area*(we know why too). Don’t play stupid Stimpy!
If your not doing anything to help the situation shut your mouth…..