A man was robbed at knifepoint last Monday night as he was walking up the hill on E. Denny way, according to a Seattle Police Department report. The man said the two men approached him around 6 PM and one pointed a knife at him and demanded his wallet and his backpack. The man handed over his backpack and his wallet but the men only kept the wallet and the cash inside leaving the backpack because it was too heavy, according to the victim.
We reported last week on a spate of recent street robberies on the Hill. Only one of those robberies involved a weapon — some kind of hard object three women reportedly used to beat another woman as they tried to steal her phone. Unlike many of the street robberies we report on, last Monday’s crime occurred early in the evening when streets are still busy with people.
According to the report, the men were last seen running southbound on Boylston Ave. The report provided no physical description of the two men.
WTF is going on around here? A person can’t even walk home from work without getting mugged.
That’s a decidedly non-freaky time of day.
Elsewhere, not here in Seattle… stick to well-traveled, well-lit routes and be aware of your surroundings, but by all means keeping walking and keep the streets populated. Lots of people on the street is the biggest, best deterrent.
I wonder what the police and/or general public safety response needs to be in order to curb this trend? I realize that this trend may be related to the recession and other things beyond our reactive control, but it is troubling to stand by and let casual violence mount as if it is inevitable. People are going to stop living/working/visiting the hill is if it becomes generally known as a dangerous place to be.
I wish I had the answer. I don’t have the first clue what to advocate.
It’s a problem. But Capitol Hill isn’t alone. Citywide crime trends:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010563619_c
“Data released Monday by the FBI showed incidents of violent crime (murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery) in Seattle increased from 1,582 during the first six months of 2008 to 1,927 during the same period this year — a rise of nearly 22 percent, the FBI reported.”
Other street robberies from first week of Jan:
Location : RAINIER AV S
Location : SENECA ST
Location : NE 125 ST / LAKE CITY WY NE
Location : 5 AV / UNIVERSITY ST
Location : 9048 9 AV SW
Location : 3 AV
Location : 1050 BLOCK 8 AV NE
Location : 1 AV / BLANCHARD ST
Location : PHINNEY AV N
Location : 800 CONVENTION PL
People need to carry mace, an umbrella or take a self defence class and start fighting back. By all means, try and avoid being a target – but be ready for anything. Seattlites tend to be easy targets since we are so passive and are unprepared…it’s time to start learning how to defend yourself.
I walk the streets of Cap Hill everyday and am really tired of this BS. I man was shot outside of my apartment last month for his watch…at 6pm on a busy, well lit street. Something has to turn this trend around – if police and the city can’t do it, then the people who live on the hill who are affected need to stand up to defend themselves.
If someone looks sketchy – they probably are – cross the street, stand tall and look like someone to avoid. There’s nothing wrong with avoiding conflict in the street – and…being prepared to defend yourself.
When the economy is bad, petty crimes rise. Some of the yuppies and guppies here on the Hill may not notice what with exotic new coffeebars and restaurants opening up, but things are pretty bad for us lowly folks here on the ground.
Do Seattleites still think that their real estate is still worth a million dollars a square foot? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! Not!
i agree with you, for the most part; especially around the area where this mugging took place. where i hesitate to tell people to defend themselves is when they can’t or when a gun is involved. yes, give the appearance you’ll fight back but if there’s more than one person approaching you or a gun is pulled out, it’s not worth your life or an extended stay in the hospital.
this part of capitol hill can be pretty sketchy. very few people slow down or stop on these roads (including the police) making pedestrians an easy target. i’m wondering what we can do to get a few bike cops to patrol the streets between denny/olive and pike/pine/broadway?
Ha ha ha ha ha. It’s all very funny and “punk” to be cynical until you or your brother or your child is violently assaulted. I’d like everyone in our community to be safe. Even you.