Police investigated a string of gun-related crimes across the Central District and near the I-5 greenbelt Sunday night. In one incident documented in this account sent to CHS, an exchange of gunfire sent bullets into nearby residences at 15th and Cherry:
There was shooting incident yesterday in the Central District at 15th and Cherry at about 6 pm. Luckily, no one was hurt. About 10 gun shots rang out yesterday at the corner of 15th and Cherry. One assailant was hiding behind a car parked in the driveway. The other shooter or shooters were in the street. No shouting noise or cars were heard or seen and no other people were in the street during the time of the shooting. Three shots went through the parked car that the shooter was hiding behind. At least three others went into the neighboring house: one through the window, and two through the walls and into the house. Another stray bullet went into another neighbors upstairs window. An electrical line was also shot down. Additional gunfire was also reported shortly after on 14th between Columbia and Marion.
The neighbor tells CHS 911 callers believed the shooters to be “unrelated to this area.” KOMO reports that windows of the nearby Northwest Kidney Center were also shot out in the incident.
Police told residents the shooting might have been part of an ongoing gun fight as there were were many reports in the neighborhood.
Just prior to After the 15th/Cherry gun battle, there were reports of gunshots heard near 29th and Yesler.
There were no reported injuries.
Meanwhile, East Precinct officers shut down the streets of S Dearborn near I-5 late Sunday night after a report that a man who had threatened a victim with a gun was in a tent underneath the freeway in the greenbelt. Police geared up to search for and approach the tent in the dark and overgrown area. SPD tells us they made contact with the suspect who was described as cooperative and that no gun was found. There were no arrests.
UPDATE: SPD has posted a brief on the Central District gunfire incidents reporting that a gun was recovered but that there have been no arrests:
Police recovered a gun and a loaded pistol magazine Sunday night in the Central District after homes and vehicles were struck by gunfire in two different shootings.
In the first incident, two men opened fire on an SUV at 15th and Cherry around 6:30 pm before fleeing. At the scene, officers found more than two dozen shell casings from at least two different guns, and recovered a loaded pistol magazine from the street. Two homes, a car, and a medical facility were struck by gunfire in the incident.
About a half hour after police responded to the shooting at 15th and Cherry, officers received another report of gunfire at 29th and Yesler, where they arrived to find an abandoned, bullet-riddled car crashed into a tree.
Witnesses told police a gunman had run behind a nearby home, where police later recovered a discarded handgun, which matched shell casings found on a nearby street.
Two vehicles were struck by gunfire in the incident, including the one found crashed into a tree.
Police have not yet established a connection between the two shootings. Gang detectives are investigating.
See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS Crime coverage here.
Not sure if this is related, but while cops were near Cherry and 23rd, there was a group of five men at the William Grosse park that are not from the neighborhood.
Sorry, I meant to say Cherry and MLK
It’s worth noting that this is only the latest gunfight in this neighborhood (within a 1-block radius of the location of this latest incident).
It happened on what is practically Seattle University Campus and Swedish Hospital Cherry Hill Campus. Don’t think they’re not pursuing it with the police.
A decent theory for the police to follow up on is that one or more of the perps lives on that block of 15th Ave, seeing as they were on foot.
Welcome to the brave new Seattle. It’s a miracle that no citizens were killed (to hell with the shooters; may they all end up dead or in prison before they threaten any more lives.)
Is it a coincidence that violent crime in Seattle is on the rise when the Obama/Holder Justice Department is intentionally crippling our police force’s ability to engage criminals with it ideological and political agenda? Criminals/feral punks with guns are emboldened because they know very well our cops are paralyzed from acting effectively in the field because they are afraid of being themselves deemed criminals — just for doing their jobs to the best of their ability.
Don’t believe it? I believe them.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-cops-sue-over-doj-reforms/
Oops: Sorry; guys and gals, you can’t fight city hall — or the Feds.
http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/seattle/2014/10/20/judge-tosses-spd-use-of-force-lawsuit/17619821/
Merrick J. Bobb — nice work if you can get it.
http://www.seattlemonitor.com/overview/
http://www.seattlemonitor.com/monitor-merrick-j-bobb/
And by the way, for the record — there were significantly more than 10 shots fired. Try closer to 20 — all within five seconds.
You might have a point if this was a “new thing” for Seattle and the CD, which it isn’t.
And if violent crime is on the rise in Seattle, which it isn’t. They have stats to track these things so you don’t have to make them up: http://www.seattle.gov/police/crime/stats.htm
Now get back on duty, Officer.
Clearly the instinctive response to “should I fire this weapon at another human being” is “thanks to Obama and Eric Holder, I can indiscriminately fire a weapon in public without a fear of repercussions!” This is why we’ve seen a nationwide increase in public shootouts. It’s like the wild west everywhere, every single day. Thanks Obama!
(Except for the whole “violent crime rates are decreasing everywhere but on Fox News broadcasts.”)
They can thank the police … if they had not MISUSED their power, they would still be killing as usual. Don’t put the blame on someone else!!!
Fair and balanced, just like the news you watch. Talk about misinformed.
Why don’t we just get it out of the way on every newscast, by prefacing every single story with “the following is all Obama’s fault”. It would save time.
Imbeciles.
I heard the gunfire that was at 29th and Yesler while I was at home having dinner. This event is very disturbing, but it is sadly nothing new. The part of the neighborhood where I live did have a slight downturn in crime and violence over the past year or so, but I fear that it is getting worse again. For the first seven years that I lived in my house, the gang activity and violence were horrendous. My neighbors and I constantly heard the same thing from SPD, “Our hands are tied, we know who they are and what they are up to, but there isn’t anything we can do. . .” 911 operators usually didn’t take our calls seriously, and they used to hang up on one of my neighbors when he called about the criminal activity. Things finally got a little better for our neighborhood when one of the really bad actors moved out of his grandmother’s home.
The crime was happening prior to the Justice Department’s investigation of SPD, and it continues post-investigation. The thing that has stumped me regarding SPD is how they ignore a lot of blatant serious crime but then sometimes go overboard with brutality when making arrests for minor infractions. It doesn’t make any sense.
I agree
So, I moved to the CD yesterday. When we were retuning the Uhaul, my friend and I witnessed the gun battle on Cherry and 15th. There was a black SUV, and a black sedan. We turned right on Cherry from 16th headed west, and came upon this exactly as it was happening. We saw what looked like the two cars pulled up next to each other looking as though they were exchanging gun fire into each others vehicles, though it may have been the sedan opening fire on the SUV. We saw two young men, one with facial hair, the other not – and none of them could’ve been older than 18-19. After I gunned the Uhaul as fast as I could, looking in the rearview mirror I saw the black sedan speed across Cherry headed south on 15th, with a firearm drawn, the passenger in the sedan was shooting back at the SUV. That was the scariest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Especially with gunfire no more than 30 yards away, that’s the closest I’ve ever come to being shot. That was a hell of a welcome to the neighborhood. We called 911, both of us in shock. These things happening in the middle of the day are especially scary.
Hi eyewitness/madscientist74,
You may not know it but you are apparently the only eye witness to the incident. Detective Santiago of the SPD would really be grateful if you gave him a call; he’s a nice guy. Just wants to ask you what you saw. You can get in touch with him by calling the East Precinct and asking for him by name. The number is (206) 684-4300. Thanks a lot and welcome to the neighborhood!
OK! I will do that! My friend and I both saw it, so I’ll have her call too. It was CRAZY, and I never ever want to see such a thing again.
It is a very small number of individuals involved in this violence and they need to be rolled up. Someone knows them. Given the locations it is miraculous no bystanders were injured or worse.
No snitches, remember? Hip hop culture alive and well.
Untrue … perhaps with the teenagers, but that is also the case with white teenagers not snitching — and I believe it is more out of fear than abiding to a code. All adults in this neighborhood will tell it in a minute, unless they are involved. What propaganda!!!
Thanks eyewitness; yours is the first solid information we’ve seen about this since it happened! I read story and comments earlier this afternoon and didn’t know what to make of any of it. Our family and our neighbors are just grateful that no one was hurt; I checked on my neighbors today and the good thing to come of this is connecting with people. I don’t have an informed opinion about SPD or the DOJ issue; I never heard of it before today. But I can say that there has been more gunfire in this neighborhood the past couple years and have called 911 more than once. Hoping that working together we can make it better. Maybe work with SU and Swedish and the local precinct. Thanks everyone.
No problem – I am wondering what the police have determined given the amount of evidence they have – which seems substantial. They should at least have fingerprints.
Well, violent crime might be down overall, but tell that to the nearby residents of this shootout. There are certainly areas of the city where crime is up, and our CD is one of them.
shooting seems to be on the rise lately in the neighborhood. they all seem to be around 6 p.m. is that a shift change or something with the cops? I live just off S washing ton and there were 3 shootings in 3 weeks within a few blocks all around the same time.
The shootings are almost always 16-18 yr old kids . anyone older has more sense to throw their life away over nothing. When caught they should all be tried for attempted murder. I’m not in favor of incarceration generally as there seem to be better options but this is ridiculous. People are coming home from work and driving by with kids and these idiots are playing out their dumb retribution fantasies in broad daylight and somehow SPD remains oblivious. Do we even have a gang unit?
amen
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