Editor’s Update: SPD has released details of an arrest made following last night’s shootout at a home near 27th and Spring:
One Central District gang house has become a frequent enough target of shootings that, after another bout of gunfire last night, residents of the house were unable to tell officers which bullet holes on the outside of the home were new, and which were old.
Just before midnight Monday, police received a report of gunfire near the home, at 27th Avenue and E. Spring Street. When officers arrived at the home, a man came outside and said someone had shot through the front window of the house as he was sitting in the living room with his grandmother.
The man said someone had knocked on the door of the home, and then fired 6 or 7 shots at the house. The man then grabbed his own gun from inside the home and ran out to the porch, where he saw two male suspects running down the street.
One of the suspects turned around and again opened fire on the man. The man shot back, firing at least a half-dozen rounds at the suspects, who fled the scene in a tan Toyota Camry.
No one was injured in the exchange of gunfire.
A few minutes after the shooting, officers spotted the suspects’ car, along with one of the suspects, near 35th Avenue and E. Pine Street. Officers chased the suspect down an alleyway and arrested him. They also found a handgun in the alley.
Back at the home, the man who had opened fire on the suspects turned over his handgun to police, and showed officers that he had a valid license for his gun.
The case has been referred to the Gang Unit.
Original post: I tried calling this in to 911, but I keep getting a busy signal!?! I called the precinct where they routed me to the non emergency number where I got a recorded message. No wonder we can’t get the shootings to stop around here.
Editor’s Update: Police responded to a report of shots fired at 27th and Spring. Nobody in the house was injured, SPD said via Twitter. They detained one person. We will update as we learn more.
Reader PublicDefender reported the following about the incident in a separate CDNews community post:
At just before midnight, I heard five shots, then seven shots, then a few more as I called 911 fired around 27th and Spring. I didn’t hear any cars leaving the area.
Listening to the SPD scanner, it sounds like there was some incidents that might have also involved shots at 35th and Pike.
The occupants at 948 27th Ave indicated that two men ran away from the house after the shots were fired. One woman was grazed by a bullet and an 80 year old woman at the same residence was injured when she fell when the shots were fired.
There was a request for the gang unit to respond.
I also heard those shots. I also counted 8. It sounds like it came from the southeast of 24th and Union, but I can’t be sure.
A few minutes later I heard 3 cops with sirens on speeding east down E. Union. :-/
I figured about 10, sounded like 2 different guns/series of shots, but I am no expert and was half asleep.
I was able to get through to 911, but for me it was repeatedly busy for about 5 min, then I was on hold for a few more.
Wasn’t sure because they sounded a little distant (I’m at 21st & James) but definitely heard them. Glad to hear that cops were on the way.
Yes, I heard 5, then about five more, and then a few more. Sounded like more than one shooter. Any idea of where it was. I can hear most of the valley between cherry and Madison near MLK from my place. It sounded like the other shots I’ve heard from around 27th and Spring? It’s getting too frequent.
There were upwards of 15 shots. This time was a bit different because I heard return fire and the shots were moving as well. No medics but several unmarked cop cars and several regular units zooming down Union.
Staying overnight near 25th & Union. Those shots were too close! My friend was just telling me how there are a few blocks she’s been avoiding driving down, let alone walking. This sucks.
Looking at the 911 map online, there was an aid response to 27th & spring at 12:10. Probably related, I’m thinking.
I also heard the shots loud and clear. several single shots followed by several automatic gun shots. I tried to call 911 7 times and got a busy signal each time.
Someone shot at the white house, ran up the street and then took some more shots. One car had its windows shot out. Aid was called because when the shooting started the grandma that lives in the front room rolled to the floor and hit her head. There was some concern that she was injured by the gunfire.
Apparently the target was a house. Police responded with 12 officers and are currently detaining a suspect:
https://twitter.com/SeattlePD/status/253037620710486016
Thanks for all the responses everyone. I’ve been trying to call 911 every time I hear this crap so maybe we get more patrols and target the problem spots (of COURSE it was those two houses on 27th and Spring again, what a surprise). It’s frustrating to not be able to get through. I’m glad someone did and I’m glad the police showed up. Not so glad about being woken up by gunshots at least once a week…
I agree, its just a matter of time before someone gets killed. Whoever owns that house is enabling more violence by allowing those sh#t-stains to live there.
For the benefit of SPD should they look at this, I also heard the shots coming from the direction of 27th and Spring. To me it sounded like 3 bursts of 5 shots, then 9, then 4. Really upsetting that nobody could get through on 911.
Wow,it’s so cool to drop to the floor from my bed at 12 pm to avoid being hit by gunshots, then having your 10 month old wake up screaming because he’s scared. I wonder what’s going to happen next time?? And seriously, whoever is doing the shooting, please aim better so you can actually kill your intended target so we can end this crap once and for all.
The reason 911 was busy was because so many of us were calling, which is good. I got through on the first try.
If this is the same two houses on 27th and Spring that have had numerous drive bys recently, can we as a neighborhood do anything about it?
Can we stage a peace rally outside these houses to draw attention to the scumbags living in there?
Let’s stand up to these wankers and get them out of here!
Heard these at 25th/Spring. The episode of shooting reported here 9/25 netted me a broken window and a spent slug. Report online to the police.
I walk by those houses almost every day. If I had taken the bus home instead of getting a ride I may have been there at the time. They talk to me sometimes because apparently I look like someone else they know. Hate to think I might get confused for one of them.
There were lots of shots, at least 20.
I saw two cars driving fast right after the shots with a cop car close behind. One white SUV and a grey/purple sedan.
Are u serious! These houses are hardcore deep rooted neighborhood turf wars. These grandmas and their bad grandkids are shooting each other up cuz they’re settling scores over girls or drugs and scaring the rest of the hood. They don’t care. If we staged a peace rally they’d aim a gun at us. Or driveby. The only answer is for cops to actually shut these houses down or call their damn landlord or something! This has gone on for too long!
I was woken up at about 11:55pm to what sounded like 6 shots, then 8 from a different hand gun (faster and closer together), pause, and then another round from each gun. I heard sirens about 8 minutes later, but they seemed pretty far away. My bedroom window faces 27th and Spring (not on 27th), so it was quite alarming to say the least. Not the first time from that house either–I’ve stopped driving down 27th to park my car in my garage because of the activity surrounding that house. CAN WE PLEASE MAKE THEM LEAVE?!?! Shootings this often from that house is ridiculous! My neighbors (who have lived in their house for 3 years) have even told cops who were cleaning up shell casings where the shootings come from, and they haven’t done much about it. DO SOMETHING PLEASE! I don’t want to be afriad to walk down the side streets at night, thanks.
I happen to agree with Uknowwho. A peace rally would only incite them more and could end very badly. There are some bad characters that reside there. At this point the only thing we can do is push the city to apply the new nuisance laws on these two houses and evict them.
I wonder, who houses these criminals in these homes? Most are dilapidated and rundown with no regard for neighbors. I’m not sure about the house on 27th (is it on 27th or Spring, this home?) but the one with similar activity on 29th and Alder (one block from where I live) seems to be owned by the grandmother, with at least 2 generations living there. Do you think it’s the same way? I assume the house is paid for, meaning the tenants don’t pay rent and have free will to do whatever they like. Aren’t there county records of who owns the home – and if so, can’t we contact that person to ask if s/he is OK with the constant gunfire? They can’t be happy with it either. Just curious, if enough people complain and it’s endangering the lives of neighbors, something has to be done, right?
I don’t know how wise it is to kick the hornets’ nest, but their are legal action each and every one of us can take to put pressure on these home owners. Below you’ll see a few links, but in short, knowing the people responsible for the problems and the the people responsible for the places (houses) is the first step in establishing grounds for a civil lawsuit. The physical damage to cars and homes as well as fear and stress and a general impact to the community and property values are all ground for legal action. Learn more here:
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/article/Gangs/Civil_Remedies
Identifying home owners is a matter of public record:
http://info.kingcounty.gov/Assessor/eRealProperty/Dashboard.
http://info.kingcounty.gov/Assessor/eRealProperty/Dashboard.
I’m not a lawyer and have no idea how actions like this might resolve themselves, but it is at least a course of action that can be considered.
Stay safe!
According to King County, the home at 948 27th Ave (SE corner of 27th and Spring) is owned by Frankie and Fisher Burns.
http://info.kingcounty.gov/Assessor/eRealProperty/Detail.asp
Particularly disgusting in this case (given the frequent police calls to this address) is that the owner has been given a senior exemption and pays essentially no property taxes ($376 for 2012).
Any one of you reactionaries ever talked to the people who live in these houses? Nope. Just keep spewing your venom.
if you poke a rattle snake with a stick long enough it will bite you. If one house causes cronic gunfire where families live then eventually……
Somewhere in the 11:45-midnight time period. Several handgun rounds, then automatic fire for a total of ~10 rounds. I’m near 19th & Alder, Sounded like North/Northeast, it sounded a lot closer than 27th & Spring, but it did come from that general direction. Anything happen recently at the house on 20th that was part of the big gunfire night about a week ago?
I also called 911 and only got the busy signal, gave up when I heard the sirens over in the right direction.
I heard these also, from 24th & Cherry. First a burst of four shots, followed by maybe eight. Have we had even one solid week without shots fired?
Yes you can it is called abatement and all you neeed to do is call the Neighborhood Group on Yesler and they can provide the information needed to have those houses abated by the city. I have posted this many times and nobody follows up on it.
We are organizing a new block watch in our area. I suggest all of you do the same. Grass roots organization with the help of the authorities is the only way to stay safe and protect our children and our property values.
1) Will the city consider bringing firearm charges against the resident who returned gunfire? According to the report he shot at someone fleeing his property. When is it no longer home defense but intent?
2) Similarly what charges, if any, can be brought against someone that is discharging a weapon in “defense” and put others at risk?
3) Why wasn’t the resident that returned fire at least cited for discharge of a weapon in the city of Seattle?
4) I can’t imagine how anyone besides maybe Frankie can have the right to have a valid gun license in that house. There is at least one individual that resides there that has been in convicted of serious crimes. Are you really allowed to keep guns at the same residence?
5) Will the resident of 948 be required to make restitution for the damage his bullets made to the car?
YEAH I seen these fools, why would I try and talk to them since they BE MEAN MUGGIN me whenever I drive or walk by and if I did speak to them they’d know who I am and target me or my family! I’m sick of the gunfire and it’s always innocent bystanders who pay the price with their lives. I KNOW MY HOOD AND I AM NOT WHITE AND NOT AFRAID OF TALKIN TO BLACK PEOPLES but enough is enough! The cops aren’t doing anything about thaws houses and that’s the problem!
That link u posted isn’t even the house I’m talkin about. The house is on the southwest corner 27th Spring. Foggy moldy windows, shot up doors. you know those people be hoarders. Why don’t they get busted for hoarding or something!
In case anyone was wondering I won a bet. My wife was convinced it was fireworks, I was convinced it was gun fire. One latte coming my way. I hope this makes things better.
I also heard those shots just before midnight. It sounded like it was from two different guns. I called 911 a number of times and after a couple of minutes was able to get through. Just after that, I heard the sirens.
Something needs to be done — we’re new to the neighborhood and this is the third time we’ve been woken up by gunfire. I would love to know if there are any neighborhood meetings or watches planned.
wow, this guy said it:
“Grass roots organization with the help of the authorities is the only way to stay safe and protect our children and our property values.”
hell yeah. i’ve been waiting for some hard core fascists to come around. where do i join up? can i get a uniform? we gotta protect our property and keep those, you know, people out of their…I mean our neighborhood. its ours, damn it!
An integral part of the process of gentrification is its screen of invisibility. New residents in a neighborhood, separated from the basic affinity networks that existed there before them, often remain blissfully ignorant of the process. They did not know the family that lived on their lot prior to them, they did not see that family evicted, the old house torn down and the condo raised on top of it—built often with the labor of those very same people who are now unable to afford rent in that neighborhood.
All the new residents see is “improvement”—the influx of business, the renovation and reformatting of schools with new tax and grant money, increased police patrols and a city government eager to please its newer, whiter inner-city residents with every kind of municipal amenity. The history of the area is pasteurized and a screen is drawn over the city’s south end so that Seattle doesn’t have to read about the people it has banished to the industrial wasteland outside its borders.
Those who do acknowledge the process simply claim that the neighborhood “got cleaned up” and “all those black people made money from selling their houses.” Yes, the stupidity of such a claim is astonishing—but it is widely held. These new residents point to a token minority of black homeowners in the CD that were able to profit from the housing boom, ignoring the fact that the CD has, for the last 30 years, had more renters than owners.
But some people see the south and remember obscured histories. Just today in passing I overhead an older man talking with a woman about the re-naming of his neighborhood. “I had to register something with the city,” he explained. “But when I gave them the paperwork, you know what the lady said? She said I put the wrong neighborhood down. She said I live on Cherry Hill. Well what the hell is Cherry Hill? I asked. She said that’s your neighborhood, that’s what they call it now. No, you know, that’s not okay with me. I live in the Central District. Sometimes it’s called the Central Area, and maybe my grandparents called it Cherry Hill years and years ago, but we never did. We live in the CD.”
The “Central District” itself was an old, terribly sterile name assigned to a redlined population by a hostile bureaucracy. Yet in that very sterility there remained at least a basic trace of the injustice—that shadow of an underclass which is now being bleached out of the neighborhood entirely, replaced with a lukewarm liberal consensus that we should “all get along.” But “getting along” here really means the same thing it has in any stage of colonization: “give us your land and let us feel good about it.”
This renaming both shatters the remaining community and repackages its long history of struggle and toil as simply growing pains in a process that has now reached completion. Instead of the Central District, we are encouraged to refer to microregions marked by their residential community groups—usually de facto homeowners associations, composed (naturally) of the wealthier, whiter people who own homes, maybe with a few representatives from the local non-profit complex. Now you have Cherry Hill, Madison Valley, Squire Park, Colman Neighborhood. Meanwhile, the names of adjacent areas like Madrona, Leschi or Mount Baker are casually extended to new blockfuls of condos and ground-level retail space in what was formerly known as the CD.
This fragmentation-in-name mirrors the economic fragmentation of the CD’s black population—which once had a strong backbone of locally run co-ops, gardens and clinics, as well as free summer school programs such as the one established by the local chapter of the black panthers. Into the ‘90s there even existed a Central Area Public Development Association (CAPDA) similar to ones that operate in the International District or official “historic” neighborhoods like Pioneer Square. As a publicly run entity with a large chunk of its board directly elected, CAPDA was one of the last institutional bulwarks the CD had against being rampantly overrun by developers. The CAPDA was apparently dissolved, however, sometime around the turn of the millennium, right before this last, harshest decade of gentrification washed over the neighborhood.
Today all of this basic community infrastructure has been broken apart and portioned out to the city, private companies and myriad non-profits. The Seattle Housing Authority oversees the neighborhood’s fraction of affordable housing units while the units themselves are generally built and operated by a private development company. The remnants of the area’s culture are embalmed and curated by the Northwest African American Heritage museum, which tries to carefully conceal its own violent and controversial history.
At the same time, the neighborhood’s renaming mirrors the siege mentality of the new white population, with its fortress-like architecture and racist community groups seeking to “clean up” the streets. After the recent spate of shootings in the CD, there were stories of white residents calling the cops on “suspicious looking” black people who turned out to simply be the children of neighbors they had never bothered to meet. These same people called for more police patrols and applauded as the mayor announced his plans to install cameras on all the main thoroughfares, alongside the gunshot-locating microphones.
In order to combat this trend, some have proposed an Africa Town public development association, similar to CAPDA but with an explicit cultural focus. It is compared to the kind of public development association that existed in historic China Town—the institution which allowed the International District to maintain community-owned businesses and culturally-focused development.
Meanwhile, people from different neighborhood associations are looking at the redevelopment of 23rd and Jackson as an opportunity for a “Jackson Commons.” Contrary to what “commons” actually means, they propose a complex of locally owned businesses, streetcars and green space—effectively continuing the privatization of space under a slightly different form.
The major difference between the Jackson Commons and other neighborhood associations is its ability to co-opt the very same demands made by the Africa Town project. On their website they have interviews with local black business owners who point out that we need more black businesses in the CD. Coming from the more progressive wing of white homeowners, the Jackson Commons project does not conflict with calls for more local ownership of business—in fact, the group stands in distinct opposition to the kind of redevelopment that happened at 23rd and Madison. Rather than an influx of large condo developments bottomed-out with big corporate grocery stores, banks and cafes, the Jackson Commons advocates for a space that can accommodate a variety of dense housing and small businesses—yet still built for profit by one of the many regular developers.
The trick here is a traditional one, in which we are meant to choose the lesser of two evils. The Jackson Commons, compared to an enormous condo complex sitting on a big box store, seems sane and reasonable. It speaks to the progressive liberal’s love of a mythically small-scale, harmless capitalism. They have even proposed a Whole Foods in place of Safeway or Wal-Mart, with a pike-place-style market sitting nearby.
But choosing evil in its lesser incarnation is still choosing evil. The Jackson Commons would continue the gentrification of the neighborhood just as fast (if not faster) than it is currently gentrifying. Aside from the few black business owners that could maybe ride the development to some relative wealth, the larger migration pattern would remain unchanged.
At its very best, a combined Jackson Commons and Africa Town project might reverse the exact demography of gentrification in the neighborhood—drawing together a multi-racial segment of the city’s well-off while still excluding all those below the class line (though still shipping them in from the south end when they are needed as cashiers, bus boys and prep cooks, of course).
Ultimately, gentrification is gentrification, no matter the particular politics it hides behind. It is a highly spatialized form of class war, and the poor are losing. At the same time, it’s a simple thing to say “fuck the Jackson Commons” (and we do), but much harder to discuss what might be done in opposition—what a Jackson Commune might look like instead. How can we establish a non-market, truly common space which is also overtly antagonistic to capitalism? Where might we incubate such a thing and how might we ensure that it doesn’t get immediately crushed?
Rented buildings like The Wildcat and Black Coffee are a start—as are collective houses, guerrilla gardens and basic networks of affinity. At the same time, we must acknowledge that white radicals (even working class ones) can gentrify a space just as well as white liberals. With this should come a wariness, but not paralysis. Working class whites are often used as a battering ram for gentrification, opening the neighborhood to future colonization even if they themselves will be forced out by the rising rents. This process, however, is not inevitable. It is based on a certain neutrality—a neutrality expressed through consumption patterns, trust of the police, sanitized aesthetic norms, not to mention simple ignorance.
Once this is realized the point is not to simply sit around and bemoan ourselves of our whiteness. White guilt is itself a more Seattle-style, passive aggressive form of racism, attached ultimately to a paralyzing privilege politics which offers white benevolence as the only salvation for communities of color.
The point is, as always, to attack. Attack the traces of the white power structure in your own behaviorwhich contribute to gentrification while simultaneously attacking the material of that power structure itself—the condo developments, overpriced restaurants, fancy cafés and, of course, the police. This is simple enough, and it’s something that radicals engaged in actual organizing (rather than those privilege politicians hiding in non-profits or universities) are reaching a clear consensus on.
But it may also be necessary to intervene in the actual capitalist planning process. Though an unpopular argument to make, radicals might at some point in the near future have to get their hands dirty by participating to a limited extent in municipal politics—possibly supporting the formation of an Africa Town CAPDA-like association tasked with transitioning certain key swaths of land and housing into a common-management form of ownership. This is not in place of more direct or militant action, but as a pragmatic complement to it. We will, at the very least, have to know enough about municipal politics to disrupt the planning process and enough about municipal infrastructure to be able to replace it when it fails.
We are also dealing with the strange irony that the battle is, in most respects, already lost in the Central District. Many of the condos are already built, almost all of the major intersections have been reconstructed and the demographics of the neighborhood have undergone nearly a complete shift. Today the trend is simply pushing to the CD’s southern borders and filling in leftover pockets of poverty. The strategic problem, then, is not just one of resisting gentrification, but of how we might de-gentrify the CD while also preventing new gentrification farther south.
In the end, we are again confronted with those dual invisibilities: The invisible history of the CD and the invisible present of life in the Undersea. Any form of attack—and we ought to be open to many—is fundamentally a process of making an obscured antagonism not only apparent, but essential. The very fact that the Central District is already lost makes it a unique space for resurgence.
We should not to write eulogies for the neighborhood, relegating it to some carefully curated collection of oddities from black history, nor should we fight to carve out some small, city-mandated fragment of affordable housing for the sake of “diversity.” We should instead dig up the roots left here by fifty years of militant resistance while simultaneously looking further south in search of the seeds of a new uprising, long ago “weeded out” of the city’s core.
Because to hide or to eulogize means only to gild your defeat. The point is to attack. To bloom black in the heart of the white empire.
There is NOTHING wrong with wanting your neighborhood safe for your children and family. Troll elsewhere please.
Hopefully next time the bullets hit you in the face. This home belongs to an elderly women, she is not to blame for the violence that occurs on the streets. This blog is intended to inform people of what happens not to pass judgment or speak what is not actually known. But if you’re that concerned with where they aim perhaps leave your address on the blog.
Have a lovely evening. God Bless you and Jesus still loves you.
idiot ideology!
Tl;dr
Sometimes improvement is just improvement. And using 300 words when 100 will do is just a waste of Internet.
So you say that you hope someone gets shot in the face, and then you say God Bless You and Jesus loves you? What’s an exemplary Christian. Pastor must be real proud of you.
The old bat who owns that dump knows exactly what’s going on, so spare us your sanctimonious drivel. How can we start the eviction process? They did it to a similar hellhole down in Rainier Beach.
Hey Dr. Roy, your post kinda strays from the topic of the recent gunfire incident, but it’s a worthwhile read. I like the part where you talk about a combined Jackson Commons and Africatown project. If a corporate entity like WalMart wants to move into this neighborhood, all of the local groups will need to join forces to work with and/or fight them. There are probably some neighbors who might even like having WalMart move in (gasp!), especially if it means employment opportunities. A non-market, common space sounds great, but it’s difficult to attain when private money and land are involved. Good luck with that.
Also, a lot of what you’re describing happens in every major city throughout the world, and has happened for centuries. It’s frustrating, but you’ve got the right attitude, to not eulogize and rise up. An organization like CAPDA, which means Central Area Public Development Authority, by the way, not Central Area Public Development Association, was set up to preserve the community by working with the city and developers on projects like 23rd & Jackson. They were taken down by an audit that revealed a mishandling of city funds. It was messy and arguably political, but I think you’ve got the right idea to support the formation of a new, similar organization, as long as it learns from their mistakes and works with the community. Go for it.
at least this incident made the local news.
http://mynorthwest.com/11/1115125/Gang-members-fire-at-man-i
I don’t care about “gentrification”. Join the system or move along. I would like to have a WalMart nearby. The good will site would have been appropriate. 23rd and Jackson isn’t big enough. I would be for bullozing the entire blocks from Jackson to Dearborn and MLK to 23 and putting in a Walmart there.
Black people are moving. White People ar moving. All kinds of people moving around. I would suggest that CD blacks are being replaced by African blacks more than whites. Take a look at all the Burka’s walking around.
In any case. We don’t want violent people in our city regardless of color or history. Get them out.
It does help Jack. Perhaps get her an Americano with an extra shot of reality just to rub it in a little.
why are you a scum bag if someone is targeting you, and you defend yourself? your responses have no logic, you hate black people just cone out and say it already. Timmothy brenton was a scum bag , he was targeted because who he was and what he represented, your jmad at the person sitting at home being targeted and trying to defend themselfs, all your comments are on the house that was targeted (the victim) and not the actual shooter, pathetic. the next time one of you commenters post your house was burglarized i will rant about how your house attracts criminals to the neighborhood.
how come you didnt bring these questions up when Travon Martin was killed? you dont like black people just say it already. Mccain voters sicken me, its probably that wet dog smell you all got going thats making my stomach turn.
you wouldnt know the least bit on how to keep a neighborhood safe, you are the problem, get real.
more “ignore-rant” racist crap from a troll child.
Their failure to take school seriously or work towards a legal career will be the ultimate reason they won’t be able to continue living in this neighborhood long term. The almighty dollar doesn’t care about the color of their skin but it only goes home with those that work for it. This neighborhood now requires quite a few dollars to reside in and those that can afford it won’t sit quietly by in fear while those that are unable to pay their own way drag down the community.
This was a case of retribution for something the residents did to someone else. This act was not random. Their behavior brought this upon their home and unfortunately put their innocent neighbors at risk.
Claudia: You’re an idiot. Go troll somewhere else. And yes, I will pass judgment when im woken up by gunshots regarding the same home over and over. Grandma is harboring criminals in her sh&*house and she is the root of the problem for letting those losers live there. I didn’t realize you knew jesus? Next time you talk to him will you ask him why you’re such a troll? God bless you and Jesus still loves you.
Well one thing we do know: Grumbo doesn’t have a background in real estate, retail, finance or engineering.
But we already knew that education wasn’t his strong suit, didn’t we? And he’s probably not all that familiar with steady employment. He’s almost certainly most at home in a structured environment.
“You live in a war zone no different than Tikrit or Mogadishu.”
Grumbo, you ignorant slut: That is an insult to all of our soldiers who, each and every day, put themselves in harm’s way so that you can spew your Syphillis-ridden rants.
Were you born this way, or did your mother drop you repeatedly on your head? Did you have a sadistic older sibling who liked to poke at your Fontanelle while mother was enjoying her afternoon cocktails? What’s wrong with you?
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part of what Claudia wrote:
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This home belongs to an elderly women, she is not to blame for the violence that occurs on the streets. This blog is intended to inform people of what happens not to pass judgment or speak what is not actually known.
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me:
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This makes sense to me. I do not know anything about the circumstances of her life or the other people who live in the house. I am sure that what is happening is a nightmare for all of them.
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In my opinion, as a society we need to do everything we can to guarantee that everyone has a safety net. The way things are, the guarantee is that some people will end up in grim situations. It could happen to anyone.
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As far as I can tell, the macho talk of some on this site is part of the problem and makes the situation worse and more dangerous for everyone, including the elderly woman.
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Maybe we can not think of any constructive things to say or do in the moment, but, at least, we can refrain from passing judgment, as Claudia points out.
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Constructive? You want constructive? Get a bulldozer and smash the place to the ground. Then construct a home for decent people to live in.
A grey/purple sedand? Was it the Impala with big rims, jacked up high?
What are you talking about?
How is this any offense to our military personnel whom I support 100%.
A more correct interpretation might be that this neighborhood disgraces our military by letting the homeland go to hell while they are out fighting to protect us and the rest of the world. The men and women from the CD who joined the Army to get out of this dump will come home to the SOS and get shot here in front of their house more likely that at war.
Kicking granny to the kirb and leaving an affordable home for a young veteran is a great idea. In fact, lets do that. Let’s start a program to abate homes and make them available for auction to veterans that promise to live in them and upgrade them for 5 years. Make it cheap, almost like homesteading in the CD.
That would be something. A nice home to be welcomed to. Instead of having to move in with Nana and his gangser cousin and then start the slide into the hell he served to avoid.
Your vile insults have no value to me.
There is a program and it worked great when it was used in the CD in the 1990’s. Yes you can do it is called an abatement law and all you neeed to do is call the Neighborhood Group on Yesler and they can provide the information needed to have those houses abated by the city. I have posted this many times and nobody follows up on it.
We need to just do it! Call today!
Sadly, “mitt”, it will come to that. Failure to act reasonably today to suppress the criminal culture will drive continued and escalated racial divides. Your race centric spew is the problem. People of all races are known to have disgusting violent subcultures. I see thousands of hard working black people and families in this neighborhood. You disgrace them by connecting them to the violence that we all want to be rid of.
It is so strange how these nuts imagine themselves to be liberals. No offense meant to you actual liberals who know what you are talking about. Please join me in telling this noodle that he is actually the Nazi in the room.
Travon lived in Florida. And we did beat that horse from every imaginary angle.
Like so many other homes in the CD, what happens when the elderly owner dies? Does the house automatically go to the youngest relative? Perhaps then, when they lose their senior tax exemption and they have to pay full market rate taxes they will be forced out..
I think you all know I would like to see that house bulldozed. However, I will jump in again to defend the self defense by the disgusting resident.
1) The attacker has declared war on the resident. The fact that he can shoot flee and repeat at will means that the resident is in constant threat, regardless of flight by the attacker. The attacker is merely escaping to return again. The danger remained imminent and the return fire is entirely justified regardless of what we think of the resident or his legal standing. In that moment he has a right to pick up and available weapon and defend his life and family.
2)Charges can be filed, but, as juror I would aquit.
3)Same as 2)
4)A gun license is not required in the State of Washington. You cannot get a “gun license” at all. There is no such thing. And the constitution (state or federal) does not provide for any licensing of fire arms. California and other license states are in violation of the second ammendment and should be ignored by all responsible americans. All non-felons and non-certified insane persons have the absolute right to own weapons.
5) Civil matter. They can probably be compelled to pay for damages resulting from their poor fire arms training. These criminals need to learn how to shoot.
So this is what gentrification/homesteading looks like. I’m smelling the stink of generalities a la them who settled the west and made sure to get rid of those pesky Native Americans.
Oh to be a ‘merican.
Don’t you understand that you are not just buying a house when you move somewhere? Didn’t you take a detailed look at the neighborhood at many different hours of the day and night? If you are SO stupid to not know the community you were moving into, I applaud your efforts to get out. There is plenty of ‘urban living’ coming on board in SLU.
Is this the group you’re referring to?
http://www.sngi.org/welcome/index.php
Yes that is the group.
I have a feeling that Mitt is one of out little wannabe “anarchist, that would defiantly explain the nazi like opposition to anyone who doesn’t want the neighborhood to be in impoverished. The question is who is it:
It it Lucas Carter, Matt Adams, Brandon Letsinger, Jesse Inman or any of our other adorable little trolls who’s level of political discourse consist of spray painting “F*ck starbucks” on the playground
you can abate the house through the city. Star filing 5K claims in small claims court. 10 people filr 5K damage = 50 k per incident. They do not show in court you win and file a lien
I agree – Grumbo is kind of a crab but consistently gets it. Next in line for the Spring/27th houses, after grandma goes, is in his late-50s, early-60s. If I lived in any of the neighboring houses, I would have a helluva surveillance camera pointed towards the intersection.
Hello All-
I totally understand the frustration, but to be calling her out of her name is unnacceptable behavior, I’m sure you wouldn’t want someone disrespecting someone you know, this blog is to find a solution to the problem not to badger someone’s name. No one should have to go through what you people are going through, but it isn’t helping when you all are being disrespectful to people you know nothing about, we all aren’t gang members, we work just like the rest of you and have morales, so please think before you speak. you will never know what your family will turn out to be like so lets not pass judgment, so the judging has got to stop. Father I pray for the people who reside in the house and for the people who have brought sadness to this house the courage to lift themselves to become a better person inside and out, I also pray for each and every person who is posting to this site being obnoxious, rude, ugly as a human being, and hateful, I pray that God lifts their spirits and help them understand that two wrongs don’t make a right.
Come on Wayne Wanker/and or scumbag are you serious.
Come on, you said for them to call their landlord, HELLO, they are their own landlord.
Eyes, that is one of the greater ideas I’ve seen here. Thanks man. You sir are one of our neighborhood heros.
What do you mean “we aren’t all gangsters” and “some of us have jobs”?
You speak as if you belong to some other group than I do. I am speaking as a member of the law abiding CD community. The others would be gangsters. All gangsters are gang members. So, with respect to this converstation “they” are gangsters. You are not them and I assume it is highly probable that you would be employed as are most people. True, 8% of general population and 14% of blacks are unemployed at present. Hopefully that is somewhat fluid and we will see greater employment soon. We might disagree on the methods, but, most everyone wants gangsters gone. It is us vs them, and you are not them.
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concerned taxpayer rocks
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example:
calling her out of her name is unacceptable behavior
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example:
so lets not pass judgment, so the judging has got to stop
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example:
two wrongs don’t make a right
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Pay attention to everything that concerned taxpayer said. In my opinion, he is a guide to constructive behavior. In my opinion, he is a guide to decent behavior.
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Passing judgment and macho talk and bravado is an unwelcome aberration in this neighborhood. Back off.
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So you are actually talking about getting ‘rid of’ elderly people??? Seriously, like them that ‘settled the west’ are ya. NO matter ‘the west’ was settled long before you showed up.
We are talking about members of the culture of violence. Whether they be young old white black or what ever.
The neighborhood conversation is at a level of simply seeking safety. At this point we will have to begin shutting down higher order concerns and focus on simple things like not getting killed while walking home.
Are the schools good? Who cares, I just want to know if my kid will make it home wihtout getting shot. How is the bus service? Who cares, I come home after dark, the bus is too dangerous at that hour. What do you think of the new skate park? Who cares there was a robbery and 4 shootings there last week, my kids won’t be going there.
If granny can’t control her home she must go. I’ll save my sympathy for the next dead kid.
I disagree 100%.
We know who the problem is. Let’s not convict a whole population. Point out the specific indivduals and get them to move on. Move on Frankie, get out.
Civility? They shot Justin. Shall we turn the other cheek? Oh, it wasn’t his cheak. Let’s just all blow our brains out all over the place in front of our kids and our grandmothers.
This is not a conversation about race and acceptance of differences. This is a conversation about murderers, pimps, meth dealers…. I most certainly will not be nice about it.
This message is responding to “We don’t have to take this”, lets not call people names, your being ignorant to something you know nothing about but gun shots, you shouldn’t be calling the woman an old bat she’s lived in this community probably longer than you’ve been on this earth, so to keep you safe from old bats, you may not want to come out at night, because bats are known to bite.
“They shot Justin” So you know for a fact the people in that specific house shot Justin? If that is the case, did you tell the police?
This is going out to uknowwho, sorry to say uknowwho, udon’tknowu. It’s a pitiful shame that we as a people have to act out toward one another just to get our point across, it isn’t helping anything, vent, vent, vent, we all need to put this in Gods hands, and pray, this is turning people against one another, being so hatred toward each other, I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 35 years, people lets not hate on each other.
No name calling please.
I bet Grumbo is a Republican.
Since you are so stuck on wanker, lets see you wanker take a stand. What’s so sad is that I’m sure I’ve seen you plenty of times and may have even spoke to you, what’s going on shouldn’t be happening, but you people who are calling others out of their names and being rude are so ignorant to what’s really going on.
uknowwho, I don’t know you so who are you?
Gangsters – they shot Justin. The people in that house are gangsters. Are you too stupid to understand the conversation?
I do not belong to any political organizations.
A gang fight is going on. I don’t care about the socioeconomic buggaboo
This is exactly what we need. A “peace rally” of 2000 citizens that respond to the alarm. These peace keepers come out in their PJs with the appropriate preparations to subdue the fleeing suspects and “victims”. Then we asses the situation and help the poor lads get a move on out of town before trouble greets them again.
My friend Samuel from school says those guys in that house beat up his sister a couple years ago. He won’t go by there at all.
That is a good idea. I bet a lot of my friends would like to help.
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part of what Big G wrote:
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Gangsters – they shot Justin. The people in that house are gangsters. Are you too stupid to understand the conversation?
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me:
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It is reasonable to conclude that Big G wants to make our neighborhood less safe for everyone by conjuring up an atmosphere of rumor mongering and name calling and passing judgment. Whether or not that is the intention, and I think it is, that is the result of this sort of thing. At least that is what I believe.
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Why would anyone want to make our neighborhood less safe for everyone? No way of knowing for sure but some things come to mind.
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One is that our neighborhood is valuable real estate. Lots of ways to connect the dots from here on. The possible ways that some people can financially benefit at the expense of other people is well documented.
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It might seem far fetched to conclude that sensationalism on a smallish blog is part of the big picture that goes by the name of gentrification but it seems to be the case, at least to me.
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I said this before and I am saying it again.
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Passing judgment and macho talk and bravado is an unwelcome aberration in this neighborhood.
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Back off.
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It is always so strange how people think people like me are “dangerous” or have something to do with any of the violence occuring here. The shootings, murders, drug dealing and such occure here because we allow it and cover for it. We protect them from the police.
The continuous monothought by socialist activists that any violence is being commited by me or other moderately conservative people is laughable. The neighborhood is not safe because patsies are harboring murderers. More kids join the gangs every day because we don’t drive them out and provide a safe environment in a developing city.
Stop shifting the story to make it out like white men are running around menacing the hood. There are a few hundred creeps commited to a violent life style. Just saying we can encourage them to go do that in San Jose. People of all races and interests will be better off when my people are done driving out the rats.
public safety is a social justice issue. Every neighborhood, every child, every adult has a right to expect public services that make for a safe neighborhood.
Public safety officers are suppose to protect people and all neighborhoods deserve that service and of course, ensuring that these people do their job appropriately is an oversight, policy, and leadership issue.
Living in immediate fear of one’s life takes away from the brain being able to learn and access higher thinking. Fear activates the immediate survival instincts, which helps people survive in an immediate situation, but does serve us well as a long term situation. Various levels of stress are helpful or destructive depending on the length of time and intensity. Generations can be affected by these issues.
Word.
Shaking head in disbelief
Again, my people have not killed anyone, not assaulted anyone. We’re not the problem. It would be great for you to hang out down there and help monitor the situation. You won’t find me anywhere near the place. My concerns are broader than that house that is more than 15 blocks from me. I don’t reach that far on my rounds.
From other statements there is the idea that somebody in the house is trying to separate from the gang. It would be much better for them and granny if they just moved to Boise. It’s too late to ask that we be patient for another 2-5 years of violent attacks while this guy tries to go clean. I don’t trust he will succeed. And I really don’t care to wait. Moving out would be best for all concerned. Move on granny.
best response ever!!!
Joanna does provide a concise statement of understanding about an aspect of the social climate that many attribute as the(e) driving factor of violence in a minority population. It is absolutely a true and usefull statement.
So, now that we understand that. What can be done about the constant violence in the CD eminating from a small group of people and especially a handfull of homes. We can have more than one layer to the discussion.
Now let’s kick granny to the curb. That single act would move to cut the violence in half by noon on Sunday.
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I agree with joanna when she says various levels of stress are helpful or destructive depending on the length of time and intensity.
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When someone says things such as:
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kick granny to the curb
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and
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Every year there will be more and more that agree with me. We will take over
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and
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when my people are done driving out the rats
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and
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on and on
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There is no room for doubt that this macho talk is deliberately meant to conjure up a confrontational atmosphere, a stressful atmosphere. Why? No way of knowing for sure.
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And, yes, in my opinion, it is perverse behavior to deliberately conjure up a confrontational atmosphere, a stressful atmosphere.
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And, yes, in my opinion, this sort of macho talk makes our neighborhood less safe. That is unwelcome. We will all be safer when this person stops this incendiary behavior.
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I am one hundred percent convinced that threats and name calling and passing judgment and etc result in destructive levels of stress and a less safe neighborhood.
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Would it be at all possible for you to agree that the real problem and the real cause of stress is continous shootings by gang members? My point is only that we continue to focus on the problem. My methods or what ever you imagine about them are not the point. These weekly and more shootings are not related to my postings in any way. Your stress level as impacted by me can be moderated by what your choose to read and in what you choose to engage. I have an incredibly insignificant impact on the hood. If I have raised your level of concern at all – good for me. Do something about the shooting. Get off your silly concept that anything other that the shootings are driving stress. Focus man. Shootings vs boisterous jabber – what scares you. If boisterous jabber is that scary to you – perhaps try shutting up. Not asking you to. Just think you may be scaring yourself. I’m more worried about the shootings and the people who harbor the shooters decade after decade. And you suggest I sit down and have a talk with these wonderful folks. Or that I knowingly moved in and so I deserve to live in little Mogadishu. You have no idea why I am here. I live here. I’ve been here for many years. My neighbors are better off than when I arrived and they say so. The block looks better the criminals are farther away. What have you done other than imagining problems that don’t exist.
#1 is complete BS. There is no imminent threat when someone is running away from you. Even if “they declared war” on you. This is attempted murder, and there should be jail time involved. I’ll be angry if I don’t hear about an arrest.
“residents of the house were unable to tell officers which bullet holes on the outside of the home were new, and which were old”
(sigh)
They need to arrest the “victim” here as well as track down the other shooter. Shooting at someone running away is attempted murder.
I think you who are responding have stryed away from reality. Regularly gunns are being emptied into houses in our neighborhood. Themedia does not cover these horrible events becuse it is considered status quo in polite racist Seattle to contain that here in the CD. This is a decades old containment activity that comes and goes and instead of concentrating on eliminating the criminals your still hoping for some intervention. Granny has to go to a home, those houses abated and a class action suite against the city if they do not agressivly enforce the same laws here that they do in Wallingford or Lauralhurst. You may not Grumbo’s terminology but he is on point. get rid of the criminals and not tolorated living in a containment zone.
I think you who are responding have stryed away from reality. Regularly gunns are being emptied into houses in our neighborhood. Themedia does not cover these horrible events becuse it is considered status quo in polite racist Seattle to contain that here in the CD. This is a decades old containment activity that comes and goes and instead of concentrating on eliminating the criminals your still hoping for some intervention. Granny has to go to a home, those houses abated and a class action suite against the city if they do not agressivly enforce the same laws here that they do in Wallingford or Lauralhurst. You may not Grumbo’s terminology but he is on point. get rid of the criminals and not tolorate living in a containment zone.
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part of what Grumbo said:
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the real problem and the real cause of stress
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me:
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In my opinion, there is no one real problem and no one real cause of stress.
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In my opinion, rumor mongering and macho talk and name calling and passing judgment and etc conjure up a confrontational atmosphere, a stressful atmosphere. This behavior results in a less safe neighborhood for everyone.
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What motivates anyone to persist with this behavior? Probably no way to know for sure.
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Also, this person says I have made blah blah blah suggestions to him. I did no such thing. I have said back off to him several times. That is something I now repeat again, back off.
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So by back off, do you mean do nothing? It take it that you are taking care of these matters and other peoples efforts are not needed or appreciated.
Good to know you have things under control Billy. I can’t wait to see the progress.