East Precinct police responded to a rush of gun-related incidents Friday night including the pepper spray-soaked aftermath of an attempted armed carjacking at Melrose and Thomas.

The Seattle Police Department says officers were called to Melrose around 11 PM to a report of a fight involving armed assailants. 911 callers reported a fight involving guns and pepper spray at the scene but no shots fired.

Officers arrived after the suspects fled the scene.

SPD says witnesses reported multiple suspects pulled up in a car near where they were parked and two males armed with handguns “pulled the victims out of their vehicle, threatened them at gunpoint, stole items from them, attempted to carjack them.” During the altercation, the suspects hit the victims with pepper spray and fled the area after the unsuccessful car theft.

There were no additional injuries reported and no immediate arrests.

Meanwhile, police were also responding to Broadway and Pike where a suspect was threatening to shoot the security guards outside a business.

“The suspect had been throwing glass bottles at a wall, told security he had a firearm, and made direct threats,” SPD reports. “Officers arrived on scene and located security talking to the suspect. Officers attempted to detain the suspect, who began fighting with the four responding officers.”

SPD says officers used a taser to subdue and arrest the suspect. A loaded Glock firearm was found on the suspect and taken into evidence. SPD says the suspect was transported to Harborview for medical clearance before being booked into jail.

Earlier in the night just before 10 PM, police say they made an arrest after a 911 caller reported an intoxicated male walking with a gun in his hand on Broadway. “Officers developed a tactical plan, arrived, contacted, and detained the suspect,” SPD reports.

Police say the “highly intoxicated” suspect was a 17-year-old with prior robbery convictions. The Glock handgun he was carrying taken into evidence. The teen was arrested and booked into the Youth Service Center jail on 12th Ave.

The gun-heavy night of Capitol Hill crime follows recent incidents including a man being grazed by a bullet in a shooting during a Broadway/Fir street fight late last month and a shooting amid packed Pike/Pine nightlife crowds in early July that fortunately caused no injuries.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office says (PDF) gun crime has continued to drop in the county after “the safest first quarter in terms of gun violence in the past five years.” SPD and Mayor Bruce Harrell, meanwhile, are advocating for expanding the city’s test of the new SPD surveillance camera system to include the Pike/Pine nightlife district.

While studies have shown that many guns used in crimes were purchased illegally, the rate of guns reported stolen from motor vehicles has surged in recent years.

A spate of shootings and homicides the first weekend of August brought a response new SPD Chief Shon Barnes following three deadly shootings in the city. “We want to reassure the community that we are committed to preventing further incidents of gun violence,” Barnes said in the statement.

“Achieving this goal requires collaboration between the criminal justice system and the community,” Barnes said. The chief says SPD holds meetings twice a week “to discuss violent crime trends and to determine resource allocations based on data-driven approaches and assessed needs.”

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