There’s something strange going on around the Louisa Boren Overlook. Early Friday morning, a 39-year-old man walked into the East Precinct at 12th and Pine to report he had just been held up by a gunman and three accomplices wearing ski masks just a few blocks from the park near Lake View Cemetery. It’s the third report of peculiar and gun-related crime near the overlook of the Interlaken green space we’ve learned about this week.
The victim was unable to provide detailed descriptions of the men he said held him up just before 2 AM in the 1900 block of 15th Ave E. He told police he walking home — to Wallingford — when he was held up for a laptop he was carrying in a plastic grocery bag, his phone and his wallet. Given the lack of details and the Wallingford element — a 3-mile walk unless he was hustling to catch the bus — we might have filed this in the “wait and see” folder.
But, earlier this week, neighbors in the area sent CHS two separate reports involving possible gun-related activity near Louisa Boren.
- On Thursday, January 31st, a neighbor reports that police were called to the area following what sounded like a gunshot:
This morning around 8:30 am we thought we heard one gun shot in the Louisa Boren overlook park. Eventually the police came and put up some yellowtape, which was taken down again within the hour. Curious.
Police filed the incident as “suspicious circumstances.”
- On Sunday the 27th, another nearby resident tells CHS neighbors gathered after an afternoon disturbance at the park:
Sunday around 2:30pm I drove past a male teen, bleeding from the eye and running south on E. Olin Pl. Around the corner I stopped and spoke to a few of the neighbors gathered there. They said they’d just seen a fight and couldn’t get the SPD to respond.
My friend and I circled back and asked the teen if he needed a ride. He accepted. Said he’d been hit several times by a teen acquaintance who was carrying a pistol, or what he believed to be a pistol. The teen took his backpack and phone. But when witnesses massed he gave chase.
The resident said the teen regained his possessions. We checked SPD records for the area but there was no robbery reported.
We have no indications at this point that any of these three incidents are related beyond location and time. Similar coincidences come up regularly in the murky world of crime reports. It’s understandable, too, if there is a bit more concern in the neighborhood following the “silver pistol” hold-ups and the Volunteer Park fake cop who had been patrolling the area. A “silver pistol” suspect has been arrested and charged in another crime, SPD says. Meanwhile, police are still looking for the man SPD says is a suspect in the fake cop activity near Volunteer Park.
There’s no telling what comes next at Louisa Boren. We’d be fine if the answer is nothing and the whole thing ends up in the coincidence file.
Also in the past week several graffiti tags by “CPB” on the cemetery office wall at the corner of Grandview, and a garage just south of there.
…the neighbors who phoned in the altercation/robbery on E. Polin Pl. just called it a fight and didn’t see or understand the weapon involved. If the victim and the culprit fled I guess SPD doesn’t see it as worth their time
Yes, the lead story is real. My partner reported the crime; he was robbed at gunpoint. He was walking home at approx. 11pm when he was held up by 4 people – at least one of whom had a gun. Location was Louisa Boren Park area.
The past few times I’ve walked through this area at night, all of the lights in the Overlook were dark. I realize this has no effect on the morning and afternoon altercations described in the article, but walking from the lit sidewalk on 15th Ave E through the murky darkness of the park toward E Olin Pl was kind of shocking. It’s easy to see that this has been a rough-and-tumble hangout spot for quite a while, witnessed by the floodlight system installed at the home closest to the park. Perhaps some additional SPD patrols would be in order? Meanwhile, let’s get more ‘regular folks’ out on the streets in the area — more eyes, less crime, as the saying goes.
I’m sorry to preach, but if you see a problem please report it to the proper City agency….in this case, the Parks Dept…..maintenance request line is 206-684-7250.
In my experience, most City departments only fix things if a citizen brings it to their attention.
Thanks calhoun, I’ve called it in.