From the Seattle Police Department Blotter on Ballard/Whitman Robberies

Update: KUOW story

 The Seattle Police Department said it plans to dispatch a mobile precinct to the area, along with more officers to deter such crimes, but only "when staffing allows."

end of update

October 23, 2023

Seattle Police Robbery detectives continue to investigate the reported robberies that have occurred near Ballard High School and Whitman Middle School.   

Detectives have linked four reported incidents since September 2023. The suspects in these incidents were described as a group of 4-6 subjects. Most of the cases involve 3-6 Black males wearing ski masks or hoodies, but it was also reported an Asian male and Black female may have been involved in one of the incidents. The suspect vehicles driven were described to be either a red Kia, gray Hyundai, and or a red/silver sedan.   

The red Kia has been recovered, but police continue to search for the gray Hyundai and red/silver sedan.  

The suspects appear to be in their teens, but this has not yet been confirmed. Some of the teenage victims in these robberies observed a firearm while being demanded to hand over their phone or other personal belongings.   

The SPD mobile precinct and additional police presence will be provided in the area when staffing allows to assist in deterring criminal activity and protecting public safety.   

These crimes against our youth in our communities are a high priority for the department. We do ask that you keep your safety a number one priority and be vigilant in identifying a potentially dangerous situation.  

If you have any information regarding any of these cases, please call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206)233-5000. 

Comments

Anonymous said…
We need to clean house both on the school board - who have largely been silent on this - as well as on city council - who have let lawlessness fester.

We need to crack down on police brutality but not at the cost of enabling criminality. Our city and neighborhoods are paying the price for this lack of leadership.

Use your votes folks.

And Melissa, for the school board races, please do another post summarizing all the folks you recommend so we can have a second look.

Thanks!

BLUE SKY
10/26/23, 4:18 PM
Outsider said…
Common misconception is that city council has any significant role. Robbery and kidnapping are felonies, and decisions whether or not to prosecute are entirely with the county. The person enabling all this crime is your King County council person and County Executive Dow Constantine.
10/26/23, 7:17 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, grief, that is to come fro
Read more

MEETING CANCELED - Hey Kids, A Meeting with Three(!) Seattle Schools Board Directors

 Update 2: So I have seen a message from President Liza Rankin on why she, Director Evan Briggs, and Director Michelle Sarju backed out of this meeting.  In a nutshell: - She says there was no organization to the meeting which is just not true. They had a moderator lined up and naturally the board members could have set parameters for what to discuss, length of meeting, etc. All that was fleshed out. - She also claimed that if the meeting was PTA sponsored, they needed to have liability insurance to use the school space. Hello? PTAs use school space all the time and know they have to have this insurance.  - She seems to be worried about the Open Public Meetings law. Look, if she has a meeting in a school building on a non-personnel topic, it should be an open meeting. It appears that Rankin is trying, over and over, to narrow the window of access that parents have to Board members. She even says in her message - "...with decisions made in public." Hmmm - She also says that th
Read more