Harrell, Chief Diaz respond with more police, calls for change in state gun restrictions after student shot and woman killed in 23rd Ave gun violence

A bullet hole and shattered safety glass in the Metro bus stop in front of GHS (Images: CHS)

There are again more police and private security in place around Garfield High, the largest public high school serving Seattle’s Central District and Capitol Hill, after area gun violence injured a student at a 23rd Ave bus stop and left a woman dead on the sidewalk earlier this week.

Parents and the community are looking for a larger response as city officials and Seattle Police Department leadership say they are doing everything they can to make the area safer and solve the crimes.

SPD Chief Adrian Diaz told the audience at a Thursday night public safety forum held at the city’s central library that he expects “resolution soon” in the Wednesday afternoon shootout between two vehicles that sent a 17-year-old Garfield student caught in the crossfire to the hospital with a serious injury to her leg and left bullet holes and shattered glass amid crowds of students leaving campus for the day.

Investigative prospects are more dim for bringing justice in the shooting that followed hours later and only blocks away that left a woman in her 30s dead on the sidewalk at 23rd and Main.

Police have said they do not believe the shootings are related but have limited evidence from the slaying that took place on the backside of the busy AutoZone parking lot. Diaz said Thursday night the S Main killing happened just around the corner from a stepped up police presence at 23rd and Jackson following the Garfield shooting and only a block from the “Mobile Precinct” truck and camera system the department has parked in the lot since last fall’s driveby shooting that damaged a childcare center full of children and brought community calls for more to be done to address public safety issues in the area.

The killing happened despite the increased number of officers in the area. The deadly gunshots could be clearly heard during an officer’s radio call with East Precinct dispatch as police were making a delayed response to a reported altercation in the area. Continue reading

On day of gun violence in the Central District, woman shot and killed near 23rd and Jackson

A woman was shot and killed Wednesday night on S Main just blocks from a shooting earlier in the day outside Garfield High School and around the corner from where an October 2023 driveby damaged a child care center and brought citywide attention to ongoing gun violence around 23rd and Jackson.

The Seattle Police Department says the woman was found down on the sidewalk along S Main near 24th Ave after gunfire was heard by police in the area just after 8 PM. The gunshots could be heard clearly during an officer’s radio call with dispatch.

Police were called to 23rd and Jackson earlier in the night to a reported assault related to the shooting.

Arriving officers attempted life-saving measures until Seattle Fire Department arrived. “Despite all life-saving efforts, the woman died at the scene,” SPD reports. Continue reading

Student hit in shooting outside Garfield High School — UPDATE

One teen was reported shot in the leg and police were searching for a possible suspect vehicle in a shooting outside 23rd Ave’s Garfield High School as school got out for the day.

Seattle Fire was called to the scene around 2:42 PM to treat and transport a shooting victim to the hospital.

SPD reported shell casings were located in a crosswalk at Jefferson and 23rd amid crowds of students leaving school. Continue reading

Mayor to launch series of public safety forums to focus on Seattle’s ‘top issue’

The CARE car — Seattle leaders hope to grow the city’s still tiny Community Assisted Response and Engagement effort (Image: City of Seattle)

Seattle leaders including Mayor Bruce Harrell and the new members of the Seattle City Council have promised a new focus on public safety in the city. Thursday night, Harrell will begin an initiative to address crime and street disorder in Seattle with a series of forums including meetings in each of the Seattle Police Department’s five precincts where the mayor says he is inviting the public to hear “his vision for creating a safer Seattle.”

“Public safety is not just our first charter responsibility as a City, it is the top issue for our community today. I look forward to meeting with neighbors to hear their concerns and ideas, and to share the actions we are taking,” Harrell said in Tuesday’s announcement of the Thursday night forum.

It’s not clear why the Harrell administration provided only a few days notice on the forum. In-person attendance will require registration. The forum will also be streamed live by the city.

Harrell said this week’s session will be followed by additional forums held across the city, one in each of SPD’s five precincts including the East Precinct covering Capitol Hill and the Central District. Continue reading

Victim in serious condition, police search for alleged armed assailant after E Olive Way rock beating

A suspect was reportedly pointing a handgun at nightlife patrons and passersby and one person suffered serious head injuries after being hit by a rock and knocked out during an E Olive Way street fight late Tuesday night.

Seattle Police were called to E Olive Way’s Crescent Lounge just before midnight where the victim in the assault had been brought inside after being struck in the head and knocked unconscious in the fight involving five or six people including the reported gunman.

Seattle Fire provided an “assault with weapons” level response to the call to treat the 40-year-old victim before transporting him to Harborview in serious condition. Continue reading

911 | Pike/Pine gunpoint cowboy hat robbery, 13th and Fir gunfire, auto theft stats

See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt/Signal (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS 911 coverage here. Hear sirens and wondering what’s going on? Check out Twitter reports from @jseattle or join and check in with neighbors in the CHS Facebook Group.

  • Cowboy hat robbery: Police responded to reported armed robbery after a group of bandits allegedly stole a man’s cowboy hat at gunpoint on Capitol Hill Friday night. According to the SPD report on the hold-up, police were called to the crime scene near E Pike’s Poquitos just before 9:30 PM. “The victim stated suspects stole his cowboy hat from his head and ran.” the SPD brief on the incident reads. “The suspects flashed a gun at him when he attempted to chase them.” Police say the cowboy eventually got his hat back — but not before the bad guys made off with some loot. “The suspects later dropped the hat but took dollars that were attached to it,” SPD reports. There were no arrests.
  • 13th/Fir gunfire: Police were called to the area of 13th and E Fir Saturday afternoon to reports of a suspect inside a car shooting at another vehicle. SPD said officers arrived in the area around 2:40 PM and located two crime scenes “with shell casings of different calibers.” In addition to the casings, police found a parked vehicle had sustained damage during the shooting. Police found nobody injured at the scene and a check of area hospitals came up clear of any gunshot wound victims. There were no arrests. Continue reading

Cal Anderson homeless encampment ‘obstruction clean-up’ came during search for killer

While Seattle Police detectives were spending the overnight hours secretly watching for a suspect feared to be preying on people sleeping outside in the area’s streets and parks, city clearance crews were also being dispatched to clear encampments around Capitol Hill.

In one example, according to a SPD brief on the inclusion of their personnel to provide security for the “obstruction clean-up” operation, Seattle Parks and Recreation and SDOT led a clean-up along Nagle Place on the west edge of Cal Anderson last Friday morning out of concerns around the attacks.

“Recent incidents of stabbings and assaults in the area prompted the request for immediate intervention,” the brief reads. Continue reading

Standoff with robbery suspects inside First Hill apartment unit shuts down Madison

Five people were taken into custody and police had the area around Madison and Boylston locked down Thursday morning while dealing with a group of robbery suspects believed to be barricaded inside a sixth floor apartment unit.

SPD was called to the First Hill apartment building just after 4 AM after a man was reported down and bleeding from his head in the lobby of the highrise.

Officers were told multiple suspects were inside a 6th floor unit in the building. Continue reading

Suspect charged in First Hill ax murder investigation — UPDATE

The 25-year-old resident investigated in the killing of a homeless man with an ax on First Hill has been charged with first degree murder.

King County Prosecutors say Liam Kryger, 25, killed 52-year-old Daravuth Van with an ax as he camped near First Hill’s Town Hall.

Prosecutors say Kryger was previously arrested in 2018 for a violent burglary and stabbing in North Bend that placed him in a treatment program under supervision of the King County Mental Health Court. Kryger failed to attend a scheduled review hearing in late 2019 but apparently had steered clear of the law until his arrest Sunday. Continue reading

First Hill man arrested in ax murder as Seattle Police secretly searched for suspect preying on homeless — UPDATE: CHARGED

The Town Hall murder scene (Image: SPD)

Details from Chief Adrian Diaz of the arrest of a First Hill resident in the brutal ax murder of a homeless man outside 8th Ave’s Town Hall last month reveal Seattle Police were secretly tracking a possible killer preying on Seattle’s unhoused.

Liam Kryger, 25, is being held in King County Jail on $5 million bail after being arrested by SWAT and police Sunday at Spruce and Broadway near his 10th Ave First Hill apartment. Prosecutors say they expect a charging decision in the case Wednesday.

Diaz revealed details of Kryger’s arrest two weeks after the killing in a lightly attended press conference Monday night as he described the SPD detective work that led to police pursuing a suspect carrying an ax early Saturday into Freeway Park. Diaz says the suspect was able to escape but dropped the ax.

Police were able to trace the ax to a February purchase at the Lowe’s store on Rainier Ave. Kryger was identified as the purchaser after a department of corrections officer recognized him from images police obtained of the home improvement store transaction.

According to the police report and initial court documents in the case, 52-year-old Daravuth Van was murdered as he camped near First Hill’s Town Hall, suffering a crushing blow to the head. Continue reading