Seattle Police were working to untangle a bit of a mystery overnight after two armed robberies along 19th Ave were reported just before midnight with radically different suspect descriptions.

According to East Precinct radio dispatches, officers were first called to 19th after a victim in an armed hold-up near the Miller Community Center contacted police from a nearby residence. The victim described the suspect as a white or Hispanic male wearing a bandana over his face.

Minutes later, another caller reported an armed robbery only blocks away near 18th and John. In that hold-up, the victim told police he was robbed at gunpoint of a bright yellow backpack and his wallet by a black male in his 30s, wearing all black, and a black ski mask.

Police believe the 18th and John robbery likely occurred first but were uncertain if they were searching for one suspect or two as they searched the area. No K9 units were available for the search, according to radio dispatches. There were no immediate arrests.

The victims reported no significant injuries.

UPDATE: SPD’s report on the robberies is below. CHS is told that SPD is still trying to pin down the exact location where the 18th/John robbery occurred.

Detectives Investigating Early Morning Robberies On Capitol Hill
Written by Detective Patrick Michaud on June 23, 2015 3:13 pm
Just minutes before midnight Monday, Seattle police received two separate 911 reports from victims, who said they’d been robbed by a masked man in northeast Capitol Hill. While crimes took place just three blocks and two minutes apart, detectives are still sorting out the victims’ divergent descriptions of the suspect or suspects.

The first 911 report came at 11:54 PM from a woman, who told police she’d been approached by a masked man while she was walking near Miller Park, at 19th Avenue and E. Republican St. She said the suspect was wearing a bandanna over his face, but described him as a white or Hispanic male in his 20’s.

When he pulled out a black handgun and demanded the woman’s purse, she pleaded to keep her phone. The suspect agreed, and stole the woman’s purse, leaving her with her phone.

Within two minutes of receiving the woman’s report of the robbery, officers also received a call from a man, who said a black male in his mid-30s, wearing a ski mask, had taken his backpack and wallet at gunpoint on the other side of Miller Playfield, near 20th Ave and E. John Street.

While the two cases happened close by and in quick succession, detectives haven’t yet determined whether the two robberies are related because of the victims’ differing descriptions of the suspect or suspects.

If you have any information please call the SPD Robbery Unit at 206-684-5535.