Details of the shots fired near Powell Barnett Park emerge

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Several readers chimed in with reports of a weekend “shoot out” at Powell Barnett Park. We’ve gotten a hold of the official report, which seems to refute the shoot out aspect of eye-witness descriptions, but we wanted to pass it along regardless.

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27 thoughts on “Details of the shots fired near Powell Barnett Park emerge”

  1. That house on MLK has a ton of issues. Constant fighting, gang activity – we were shot at outside our home while trying to get in the front door about 3 months ago. The people who shot at us were fighting with people in the yard of that house. Can’t wait until this is over. We’ve been in the CD for 10 years and it’s never been as bad as it’s been this year. Heard 3 shots this weekend and was afraid to go look at the park because I knew there would been a bunch of kiddos there…

  2. Thanks, Megan, for your sleuth work on this!

    There was apparently no fire response (no injuries), as it did not appear on the Incident Report, but it did show up on the Police Reports portion of the Neighborhood map as “Weapon Violation.”

    • Yes. Thank you for tracking this information down. It was not on G2 twitter. These shoot outs – be they one sided or not – are hugely detrimental to our sense of well being. Area youth will not have the same perceptions of safety and security needed to develop intelectually. Why worry about math problems when bullets are flying. The mental time and energy spent considerring risk of this degree is extensive and it does displace productive thought.

      • It was on G3 twitter: (sorry for all the intervening spaces – I don’t know how to get rid of them)

        SeattlePD George3‏@SeattlePDG324 Aug
        Beat:G3, DRIVE BY SHOOTING (NO INJURIES) at MARTIN LUTHER KING JR WY / E JEFFERSON ST reported on 8/24/2013 9:45 PM, Call# 13000306838

        Expand

        SeattlePD George3‏@SeattlePDG324 Aug
        Beat:G3, DRIVE BY SHOOTING (NO INJURIES) at E ALDER ST / MARTIN LUTHER KING JR WY reported on 8/24/2013 9:36 PM, Call# 13000306601

        Expand

        SeattlePD George3‏@SeattlePDG324 Aug
        Beat:G3, DRIVE BY SHOOTING (NO INJURIES) at E ALDER ST / MARTIN LUTHER KING JR WY reported on 8/24/2013 5:51 PM, Call# 13000306601

        Expand

        SeattlePD George3‏@SeattlePDG324 Aug
        Beat:G3, SHOTS – IP/JO – INCLUDES HEARD/NO ASSAULT at E ALDER ST / MARTIN LUTHER KING JR WY reported on 8/24/2013 5:51 PM, Call# 13000306601

      • Yay – the system took care of all the spaces for me – they were gone when it posted!

      • Should have noted that these were two (possibly three) separate incidents – 2-3 separate times, 2 separate call #’s, 2 separate locations, one block apart.

  3. Mucho thanks! Is there anyway I can contribute on a one time vs monthly basis? This type of information and dissemination thereof is how we ensure that every neighborhood in Seattle is treated in an equitable way! It’s a darn shame that there is no easy way to track gun incidents in Seattle. My impression is that there is a slew of incident classifications (which I believe the FBI dictates) that allows the information to get lost in a sea of data.

    • I think that the house in question should be reported to the seattle police and the city council. Larry Gossett lives in the area and is a COUNCILMAN so try that so we can feel safer in the park!!!!!!!

    • No thanks. I did the whole East Precinct, CPT, Block Watch, letter writing campaigns, abatement attempts, etc. for 17 years. Nothing has changed, it has only gotten worse. So, I moved 1.5 miles north of my old place and now I have none of these issues. The CD, where I grew up and tried, for a long while, to raise my kids, is truly a containment zone.

      • yep a containment zone that nonprofits make millions from over decades. Time for a TRUE CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT! Also contact with signed depositions to the D.O J.
        Soooo, where is my SPD troll, waiting for you to chime in?

      • 1.5 miles north of where cannot be so far north that it is so very different. Really that is only blocks. Maybe the particular block you lived on has more than the average number of issues.

      • yep, the troll is back. So tell us “Jim whatever is is this time” why does this issue of a containment zone bother you so much that you follow me from posting to posting with the same troll lines? You got sometin’ to hide?

  7. Joanna–I usually appreciate your contributions to CD news, and your neighborly concern for common welfare. But this is just being willfully ignorant. One and a half miles from 27th and Spring, for instance (a corner with plenty of well-documented problems), takes you here:

    http://goo.gl/maps/f4Kb2

    Or here:

    http://goo.gl/maps/0JwhR

    These aren’t crime-free zones, of course, but you can be sure it’s a long way from the summertime shootouts and curbside drug dealing we see at the regular hotspots.

    If Del says he moved 1.5 miles and has none of those problems, I tend to believe him. Shame we can’t have that kind of result without moving at all.

    • I have to agree with Del and “Come On Joanna.” After a daytime shooting in front of my house where my son and I were within a 2 feet of being shot, I reached my tipping point. We lived several blocks from the notorious house at 27th and Spring, but it wasn’t a “problem street.” We moved 2 miles north. Like Del, we don’t have overt drug dealing, prostitution, or shootings around our new home.

      Joanna, maybe it isn’t happening directly in front of your home, but I guarantee when you head to the more public places in the CD (post office, AM/PM, 23rd Promenade, Parnell’s) unsavory stuff is happening around you. As you head north these activities decline.

  8. We can have those results. I got a German Sheppard, a CCP, and hardware a couple years back. With consistent patrolling of my block all the crime has moved.

    Criminals thrive in an environment of patsies. Patsies think the gubment will do everything for them. Somebody else is always responsible. Good luck with that folks.

    I would appreciate if some of you took a little responsibility for you own block.

    • Your right Mark but we PAY for that protection in our taxes. Perhaps a tax rebate program for those in the CD? Seriously, we can do what you suggested but if this area remains a containment zone any kind of economic progress will reverse. No business will last in a crime ridden area.

  9. The folks on this thread that are putting forth the concept that “things are getting worse”…can you please point to or provide the metrics that support this assertion? Subjective observations about activity within your direct vicinity should not be used to formulate an assertion about an entire neighborhood. Also, I think it is safe to conclude that awareness of these types of incidences is much higher then it was 15 – 20 years ago due to technology which enables information (this website, SPD twitter, etc) that previously was not readily available. Thoughts?

  10. Hi Nick F,
    I agree that objective stats are much better than subjective observations. That said, there is no easily obtained metric in SPD nor FBI stats that allows one to measure the increase in gun violence – i.e. there is no way to easily collect shots fired or weapon show cases. In addition, what the SPD and other police agencies share is “trust your gut” , i.e. our mind is capable of collecting and analyzing many more data points than we consciously know. In addition, the timeframe you suggest – 15 or 20 years ago- is probably not relevant. I would suggest a 3 to 5 year timeframe as that it is more indicative of the current population and their impressions since they moved here. I do agree that more info makes people aware of their surroundings. Ignorance is bliss.
    Butch

    • Hi Butch – I think you are probably right that 3-5 years is a better timeframe. We have actually lived in the neighborhood for the last 6 years to basically fall into this category. My subjective observations are that things have actually improved over this period of time but it is not rooted in any metrics. Also, we have had some ad hoc conversations with law enforcement officials that have had or have direct experience with this neighborhood over long periods of time (5+ years) and the consensus within these conversations is a dramatic improvement. Again, I don’t have metrics to back this up – just hearsay from their experience. I would love to see metrics and will dig into this some more. Looks like I will likely come to the same conclusion you did regarding these metrics as it sounds like you have already done this research. If I do find something I will share with Central District blog readers. If not, this is an area of improvement by the SPD and if established I think the start of a much more productive conversation on this topic.

  11. Our young folks needs more guidance like Mr.Barnett which also solve many of these issues that have plagued Central and South East Seattle.