A man was stabbed in the chest just after midnight in the 1700 block of Summit Ave early Monday morning. Police are investigating an armed street robbery in the same area. At this point, we have not confirmed that the incidents are related. UPDATE: Police confirm that the victim suffered the injury in an altercation with another man who allegedly stabbed the victim and stole his backpack.
According to Seattle Fire radio reports, medics were dispatched just after 12:20a to the 1700 block of Summit Ave and found a man in his early 20s with a single stab wound to the left side of his chest. He was transported to Harborview.
Police meanwhile are investigating a reported armed street robbery in the same block of Summit at the same time. UPDATE: Police tell us that the victim was involved in an altercation with the suspect, was chased down and then stabbed in the chest. The suspect then left the area with the victim’s backpack. Police searched the area and found the suspect at the Harvard QFC where he was arrested and booked into jail.
CHS has reported on past violence in this stretch of Summit including this March, 2011 stabbing.
Police continue to investigate the January shooting death of a man on Harvard Ave. To date, SPD has not released any details of what is known about what lead to the shooting and if it involved robbery or drugs.
That strip of summit between Olive/Denny and Pine needs some serious help. Every incident on ‘Summit’ is really in that 3-4 block stretch. What about really big spotlights – turn them on all night long. Should deter some of these muggings.
Im feeling less and less safe in my neighborhood (1700 block Belmont) every week…
Let’s not forget about the recent shooting on the 17xx block of Boylston, as well.
I have seen an uptick of drug dealing, loitering, verbal altercations, etc. on my block and in the immediate vicinity in the last year. I expect the crackdown in Belltown and increased attention at 3rd and Pike/Pine area is pushing some the criminal activity into our neighborhood.
Sure, there is transitional housing concentrated in that area, but it has been for years and it hasn’t always been this bad.
Not too sure about spotlights myself. That being said, better lighting does deter crime. New LED street lights could help. I live a few blocks from here too, and a block from the October shooting/a block from the January shooting and these areas are very poorly lit.
I really do think that getting eyes on the street is a good idea, but when most of us are sleeping at midnight on a Monday morning, how do we get eyes out there? That’s the big question.
I definitely agree with you. Unfortunately, our city has been ramping up lighting and patrols in other areas that have been even more troublesome lately, and it’s been mentioned that even that is going beyond budget. I wonder if something could be worked out with local businesses, condos, apartment buildings, and maybe even some individuals to leave more lights on overnight. That would be a great way for our community to come together.
Speaking with building and business owners is a great idea. My building actually installed sidewalk facing lighting recently, and I believe it was in direct relation to the recent crime in the area.
I think it’s as simple as getting to know the people around you. Sage words from Ms. Jane Jacobs. I think more neighborhood nights out would be fantastic. Block parties once a month or Sunday streets once a month (they are doing this in the Mission in San Francisco now, and neighbors are all over it) might bring more people out and feel more connected to the community. The more connected people feel to one another, the more we feel the need to watch out for one another, yeah?
Ah someone referenced Jane Jacobs! I must meet this person, I thought I was the only one who had read her work.
I totally agree about the idea of a block party and getting to know those around you. I would love to see this happen on Capt Hill as it would actually force people to speak to one another in Seattle! I’m from the East Coast and I’m not used to being cold shouldered at every turn in a large City. New York is way more friendly and out going. So a hood party would be great.
Gutter Punk on Gutter Punk crime.
FYI:
http://www.seattle.gov/spd/Nightout/default.htm
Oh yeah, great idea. Because if they were all homeless, I’m sure they’d commit far fewer crimes, right?
1700 block of belmont here and those sirens kept me up all night
so a shooting, a mugging, a stabbing. wow. what the hell is going on within this area?
Dod, the unfortunate thing about the current night out is that it is just one night. Also, it’s city sponsored isn’t it? I think it would be cool to get a group together to organize a different night out each month on maybe a block or two stretch on a rotating basis (Boylston or Belmont, Malden or 14th, etc). I’ve looked at it before, and it seems pretty easy to secure temporary street vacation permits. The thing you need behind it is the manpower. Support from the community council or chamber is probably needed for something on a more regular basis.
This is what I was talking about in the Mission above:
http://missionlocal.org/2012/03/mission-will-be-test-site-fo
The difference is that these are being held on Valencia, which is basically Pike/Pine.
Gutter Punks. People give them money when they are begging in the streets, so they hang out and buy/steal drugs from each other.
When deals go bad you get sirens at night.
Seriously, You really hope to make lifelong friends on the street, in random encounters? I for one do to talk to anyone randomly on the street, more chance for bad than good. I meet friends volunteering, working, and socially through other trusted relationships. When I’m on the street I’m armed, angry, and alert, you should be too.
I worked in NYC for years, they ain’t so friendly there either. All the people I knew did their damnedest to get out of the city come Friday afternoon.
The street lighting is the least of our problems. The property owners not having the means or the desire to maintain places that they won’t have to rent to people who hang out with street kids is a bigger issue. I’m looking forward to a couple of those shitbox apartment buildings on Summit getting condemned and eventually redeveloped. Most of the low income and managed housing in this city is handled really effectively–for example, the people who live in the halfway houses on Summit are virtually never involved in this kind of incident–but there are a few properties along this stretch that really need some love, or at least some landscaping.
I don’t think anyone is expecting to make lifelong friends. That wasn’t even inherent in the original idea. That being said, neighborhoods with much more crime (again, see: the Mission) have taken these sorts of steps and have seen crime reductions in their neighborhoods. It also sends a message to would-be criminals that this is the sort of place where eyes are on the streets and where people do look out for one another.
Seriously though, more bad than good? You have no interactions whatsoever? Even as someone who has grown up and lived around the the area my entire life, even I am not that cut off. Sure, I am a typical Seattleite, but you can still have your bubble and create stronger ties in your neighborhood. It’s time tested and it’s been used as a sort of de facto crime enforcement for generations. Create social situations. Also, just for sound mind, no one is expecting anyone to go down a dark alley at night and say hi to some random folks. :)
That’s true, but how does being pissed at homeless people help anything?
On the other hand, letting everyone know that we have some of the least expensive and most effective social service programs in the country (e.g. the housing for chronic inebriates and the Orion youth center) right around the corner does help prevent homeless people from stabbing each other on your doorstep.
True, the National Night Out is a one-time thing and it’s not until August, but it’s a start for a lot of blocks. The 17xx Boylston held a Night Out block party 5 or 6 of the eight years I’ve lived on the block. In years past we had up 30-40 people attend. It’s made a big difference in getting to know some of the adjacent neighbors. It withered on the vine because people didn’t make the effort to keep it going. These things take time. Many people are busy and expect others to do the organizing. Starting something from scratch is that much more challenging, but I encourage you to do it. The Community Council is an all volunteer group. They need folks like you to assist in such efforts.
“When I’m on the street I’m armed, angry, and alert, you should be too.”
Alert, definitely, but I TOTALLY disagree about the armed and angry part. Saying “hi” or merely smiling at familiar faces and dog walkers that you see on a regular basis also goes a long way.
Get your head out of your ass, the halfway homes help this problem more than almost anything you can do! It’s not like it’s a free ride for lifetime criminals–they have strict rules and provide the structure that these people need. The people that go through halfway houses instead of right onto the street have a far, far lower rate of re-offending.
Dod, you are right. I just actually checked on Seattle.gov and found out that we can get street permits for block parties FOR FREE as long as we keep intersections open, as long as we don’t live on an arterial, and as long as we do not have bus stops on our streets.
I’m definitely going to research this more.
The gutter punks that beg for cash up and down broadway, that live in those units are not good people, nor do they want to get better.
Arrest every single one of them and run their records in the database. I’m sure most have warrants somewhere.
you think those people want help? They want drugs. That’s it.
Seriously. I’m thinking of pointing my webcam out the window. I could capture a lot of this crap on video…
One of the things I love about Italy is that most evenings, especially in smaller villages or in tight communities, families and friends go out to do what I have been told is called the ‘promenande’. This is after work and before dinner (they dine later there). They will go out walking along the streets with their family, the other kids might go with their parents for awhile and then hang with their friends. You see many happy greetings, children playing, older folks sitting in the popular areas comfortably and being approached by their family and friends. You hear lots of laughter, loving tones, joking tones, and sometimes cranky baby tones. But as soon as a child is cranky there is someone there to make them feel better. It is a time to ‘just be’, to walk and talk, maybe have a gelato while doing so. I would love to see this practice taken up in America. I think it is a sort of gift that Italians give themselves each day to have a little recess and joy each day, even if it is just for an hour or two. I think a presence like this along and adjacent to Broadway could help to ‘take back the streets’, so to speak. Perhaps naive of me, but does not take organization, just getting the word out.
So while developers continue to tear down nice buildings and destroy nice areas of Seattle in pursuit of their lord and savior, the almighty dollar and condos, this area remains untouched. I say tear it down. Put all those half-way houses on Summit AND Belmont in South Seattle somewhere. That is where 90% of those occupying the half-way houses normally live after all.
There are TONS of Block Parties on Capitol Hill and throughout Seattle during the Summer and early fall. You should get out more.
Tons as in the Night Out and maybe (I guess) Block Party [tm] and business district oriented 12th Ave Block Party? Also, Sunday streets on Lake Washington Boulevard (which isn’t even on the Hill?) and then maybe the one off things like the one at Melrose Market last year?
Are there others? Are there ones that aren’t put on by businesses and/or property owners? Ones actually put on by neighbors, and especially neighbors that may want to have ones that aren’t just in the summer? Please enlighten us. since you get out way more than the rest of us. ;)
Ehhh, it’s just fun to piss on peoples’ bonfires though, eh?
Overall though, the ones in the rest of the city don’t even really have anything to do with this particular conversation. (I don’t think the Fremont Sunday Market or Ballard Market or Solstice Parade, etc really does much for community involvement on Capitol Hill)
I’ve lived on the 1700 block of Summit for almost 2 years, and during the past few months I’ve definitely seen an upswing in violent incidents, police calls, etc. I live directly across from one of the halfway houses (I believe there are two), so I definitely get a bird’s eye view of anything that goes down there, not to mention the rest of the block. Lately it seems like there have been 10+ police calls per week on this block. Quite a few of them seem to involve residents of the halfway house, and/or their acquaintances. Frankly I don’t see a way around this situation. As long as the halfway houses are on this block, there is always going to be a transient population of people with, at the very least, severe substance abuse problems, and at worst, criminal connections. To be fair, most of the residents keep to themselves, and from my understanding the recent heroin overdoses further down this block didn’t involve the facility near where I live. I don’t feel personally unsafe here, though. Most of the mischief on this block seems to involve people who already know each other, so it’s all street theater to me. Those knuckleheads on 17XX Summit… at least they drive down rent.
It would really help if people stopped giving money to the panhandlers on Broadway and other parts of our neighborhood. You think you are “helping” them, but you are not….you are enabling them to continue their drug/alcohol abuse. If they can’t score any cash, they will go elsewhere, and possibly even make a decision to get help and get off the streets.
There are many shelters available in Seattle, as well as many food programs so that a homeless/poor person can get a hot meal 3 times a day every day of the week. They do not need cash for basic survival, but they want cash to buy drugs/alcohol. If you think otherwise, you are fooling yourself.
Two words: Peter Sikov>
He is the slum lord in charge of these and other half way houses all over Capitol Hill. One he has at 17th and Olive he lost his license to run and now it is just rented out after a failed attempt to sell it. Remember Shannon Harps and the guy that got hatcheted to death on Union on his way home from the store? Yes old Peter was raking in the dough looking after the perps. Until we get rid of him and his “ventures” there will always be preoblems with these blocks. He makes a FORTUNE looking after these folks but plays up being some peace loving liberal hippie. He is nothing but a greedy money grubbing rich pig. Look him up. You’ll see what I mean.
I live on Summit near Pine and they need to get rid of the half way houses once and for all. Been here for 22 years and it’s not getting any better.
One of those houses might be a “Halfway House” but the other is a Sex Offender re-location. Just look it up on the Sex Offender Registry on the internet and you’ll see that one of the houses has about 6 or so Sex Offenders living in it. We always call it the “Rape House” and usually walk on the other side of the street. Not really scared of the place, it’s just creepy as hell.