Business owners, residents, and officials gathered to call for city leaders and property developers to address public safety worries Thursday night in the parking lot at 23rd and Jackson following a Monday drive-by shooting that sent one man to the hospital and shattered glass at the kid-filled A 4 Apple Learning Center building across the street.
A King County Council member called for the community to hold its leaders accountable, while some childcare providers pleaded for the installation of bulletproof windows.
Apollonia Washington co-owns the learning center. She said she has spent this past week speaking with families to reassure them that the intersection of 23rd and Jackson is a safe space for children. Washington said the center and parents have reached out to city council members and Mayor Bruce Harrell to do more to activate the area so that community members can feel safer.
“It shouldn’t have to take my childcare to get a bullet through the window—where it could have been any one of my 24 students, myself, or three of my teachers who could have possibly gotten shot. I pray that this never happens to any of my other local childcares,” Washington said.
Vulcan Real Estate, the developer of the intersection’s Jackson Apartments and the Amazon Grocery project, has also been criticized for not doing more to address disorder and crime on the rest of the property it owns at the intersection including the massive parking lot on the northeast corner that has been the scene of multiple gun violence incidents including the June 2021 shooting that killed 21-year-old Sultan Ujaama.
Another fatal shooting happened in the same lot in October 2021.
Alex Cooley, a learning center parent and president and executive director of Jackson Place Community Council and an unsuccessful candidate for the District 3 seat on the Seattle City Council, said he wants a vibrant and safe community where children can flourish as a result, but he does not currently feel that, and hasn’t for some time.
“Sadly, we are going to request that this bus stop move. We asked two years ago to get ambassadors here to make sure that what happens as a result of this open air drug market and that as a public consumption site—we tried to stem it. We tried to [get] early interventions work. We’re at a point where we have to take care of our children, and we have to do a little bit of pushing the problems somewhere else,” Cooley said.
If the bus stop moves, Cooley said it will be brought back once the area is safer which can be done through the mayor expediting Black Coffee Northwest’s new move into the former Starbucks location.
The new coffee shop is currently on track for an “early 2024” opening, a Vulcan spokesperson said.
Man shot, learning center hit but kids safe in 23rd and Jackson driveby — UPDATE
Vulcan says it has also been responsive to trying to make the parking lot safer including changes that closed off the back entrance/exit of the lot with bollards to limit cross-traffic and installing gates that close off the parking lot after hours.
“Since we implemented this closure, we have seen a significant reduction in undesirable activity on site with the parking lot essentially absent of any vehicles between 11 pm and 6 am daily,” the Vulcan spokesperson said.
The company has also increased the number of security cameras on site “to help identify and reduce unwanted activity.”
Vulcan says a closer relationship with SPD has also helped.
“In addition to hired on-site security. we are in regular contact with SPD who assist with daily patrolling,” the spokesperson said. Vulcan also takes part in monthly meetings with East Precinct leaders and a crime prevention coordinator “on preventive measures at and near 23rd and Jackson.”
Thursday night, King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay explained three actions that can be taken to stop gun violence, with the first being hyper-focused intervention strategies, which include getting individuals connected to resources, organizations, and assistance with anger management.
“All the data shows us that the people who are shooting, the people who are being shot, is within a very identifiable, small network of people. And within that network, once one shooting happens, then the cycle of retaliation…happens,” Zahilay said.
Increasing the number of case managers to support families experiencing the trauma following gun violence is another area of focus. Lastly, Zahilay said there needs to be an all-hands on deck approach. Last year, Cooley started an organized support group for 23rd and Jackson, and Zahilay said he will get that work group formed again. Zahilay also stressed the importance of holding government leaders accountable.
“I’m going to say this right now, because I have to say it—it’s been on my chest. Where is the city council representative that represents this district?” Zahilay asked, calling out outgoing D3 leader Kshama Sawant in all but name.
The councilmember acknowledged the presence of City Council District 3 candidates Joy Hollingsworth and Alex Hudson who each attended the event, and added that every level of government must be held accountable for their response and physical presence in the community with issues of violence.
UPDATE: Sawant’s focus this week is in the Middle East. Friday morning, she was scheduled to appear with “community activists” in a “Statement Against Israeli State’s War On Gaza & Call on Seattle-Area Democratic Politicians to Condemn Bloodbath” at City Hall.
Representatives from childcare providers from across the city were also in attendance, with some advocating for fully bulletproof windows, since many of their daycare centers are in violence hotspots.
One childhood provider said, “I don’t want to hear that it’s expensive, because it’s more expensive to lose a life. So it’s a one-time investment that the city needs to make in these programs that are in the inner city urban settings.”
Thursday was also a sad anniversary in the city of a life lost to gun violence. The day marked one year since the violent shooting and death of D’Vonne Pickett Jr. at MLK and Union.
UPDATE: Gunfire damaged Pickett’s business, The Postman, overnight. SPD is investigating.
Bullets rang out early this morning in the #CentralDistrict shattering the windows at #ThePostman as candles from a vigil hours earlier remembering the life of D’Vonne Pickett Jr. who was murdered here exactly one year ago still burned bright. No injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/XCRu35yL6B
— Omari Salisbury (@Omarisal) October 20, 2023
UPDATE: A police mobile precinct vehicle was moved into place in the parking lot Friday. SPD has used the units to maintain a presence and try to cut down on disorder in crime hot spot areas.
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Where are the [redacted] [redacted]? Did they not get the memo of no crime?
“I’m going to say this right now, because I have to say it—it’s been on my chest. Where is the city council representative that represents this district?”
Vlogging on YouTube. And getting yelled at by rank-and-file UAW members. I realize it’s a rhetorical question, but I think it’s still important to really spell this out.
Hudson voter here.
I hate to say it but Joy is right on this one. Personally I’ll still vote for Hudson. But ever since Sawant announced she won’t be running she has been silent on a lot of things. For example:
SPD hit and killed a pedestrian in January. You’d think from then to now Sawant would be in the rooftops screaming for the dashcam footage to be released. Not a peep from here until the footage of the SPOG VP joking about her death.
Of course Sawant was MIA like she has been from any event over the last 10 years that she can’t bring a bullhorn to and make about herself. She is the worst city council member ever! She is one of the main reasons I no longer identify with the Seattle left. What an embarrassment and disaster for Seattle. I can’t wait to have a person that cares about D3 and Seattle finally representing this part of the city. Joy has deep community roots and is the obvious choice.
“within that network, once one shooting happens, then the cycle of retaliation…happens,” Zahilay said.”
Sounds like we just need to sit them all down to binge all 700 episodes of Naruto so that they can learn about breaking the cycle of revenge… Seems reasonable to me, or at least as probably as good and effective as anything else that’s been tried over the last several decades. Maybe I can get several $100,000 in funding to try it.
Right after the daylight shooting in front of my house, my neighbor said “yeah, people turn to guns too much. More people could have been hurt. But you gotta protect yourself, know what I mean?” So yeah, the cycle will continue until we ban guns.
I’m just glad this is getting the attention it deserves. Looks like the community is speaking and they’re calling for public safety to be the focus.
Exactly why I’m voting Hollingsworth
HOLLINGSWORTH is the person to address this.
Wrong! Hudson understands the root issue. Hollingsworth will just jail people who are poor.
@CD Resident,
Did you watch the recent Hollingsworth/Hudson debate? If not, I highly suggest that you check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVxWy5DOYOQ
Hollingsworth has some fantastic ideas that I think could make a positive impact. Hollingsworth outlined detailed and comprehensive approaches to address issues like this. She and her family are from the CD, so I trust her to know and understand the root issues.
Hudson struggled to articulate realistic solutions, even on the topics she specializes in. She suggested objectives but did not offer actionable/realistic plans.
I thought there was a stark contrast in their performance.
Hudson will continue the practice of allowing the very few to take over our public spaces doing drugs and illegal activity while the 99% who pay taxes and follow our laws pay the consequences.
Hollingsworth cares about both, that’s the difference. Sure, long-term investments in community are important, but we need immediate action now, too.
Hollingsworth is the way to go! She’s who we need! Hudson does NOT understand the root issue, she was just wants to ignore the fact that our city needs help! She has a comprehensive plan! Get out the vote!
Anyone (e.g., Hudson) who prefers the Stranger to this blog deserves to lose.
From Zahilay’s comments, it sounds like they have an idea of who is responsible: a small group of people who are in a cycle of retaliatory shootings, and it doesn’t sound like that group includes the visibly homeless, the addicts or the mentally ill that are in the same vicinity of the shooting.
So naturally, SPD resources through this mobile precinct are going to be focused on visible, low level drug crimes and visible homelessness that make people uncomfortable, rather than finding and resolving the known issue causing the very dangerous gun violence.
The actual East Precinct hasn’t been much of a deterrent for gun violence in its surrounding area. Why would a mobile precinct be any different?
Perhaps change in the right direction is coming. Seattle Police began enforcing the new gross misdemeanor open drug use law yesterday. Notice who they arrested? Many people with outstanding warrants for rape, assault, and domestic violence. Also several with handguns and other weapons. The police could not have legally contacted these people and subsequently arrested them without the new law, which classified their activities as illegal, thus allowing police to contact them and investigate further. Removing people like this from Seattle streets will slowly but surely reduce violence on those streets, and hopefully prevent or reduce the kind of drive by shootings experienced recently in the CD.
Look at all those evil white racist meanies
Kshama and the Socialist Alternative don’t care a bit about anything that happens in Seattle. They only care about getting their leader Kshama in the national spotlight any way they can.
Joy Hollingsworth and Tanya Woo for Seattle!!!!
So glad these folks are speaking out (minus, of course, our forever-MIA council member). We need to talk more honestly about this stuff. Investing only in long-term solutions isn’t enough, people deserve safety NOW. I bet most of the recent shooters already have plenty of social networks and a roof over their heads.
Yes, let’s invest in prevention, diversion and community building. But also let’s get shooters out of our neighborhoods. They know it’s wrong to shoot at someone, especially in front of a day care. They need jail and we need (honest) cops to arrest them.
Gentrify out the shooters!!! Yeah that will work. Sure. Also why didn’t you vote out Sawant or recall her? Oh yeah you tried.