Tag Archives: central district

Child struck and killed at Washington Middle School — UPDATE

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A 12-year-old was reported struck and killed in a crash Thursday afternoon at the Central District’s Washington Middle School.

Police and emergency crews were called to the campus at 21st and Jackson just after 12:30 PM to the collision.

The child was reported dead at the scene.

The Seattle Police Department is investigating. According to East Precinct radio updates, the driver remained at the scene.

UPDATE: Police radio updates and witnesses described a terrible incident as a SUV parked outside the school and reportedly unattended began rolling downhill where the child was struck near S Weller.

Police say the student was on the sidewalk outside the school when she was struck and killed.

UPDATE 3/7/2025: CHS is following up with Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Department of Transportation about the incident and any street safety and “Safe Routes to Schools” efforts in the area as well as more information about why the student was near the street and parking lot area.

The area of 20th Place and Weller is an unusual and often crowded area where the WMS parking lot meets the city streets and the typically semi-truck filled area outside the neighboring Franz Bakery factory.

 

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Police recover airgun as assault involving possibly armed teens sends Garfield High School into ‘shelter in place’

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A reported assault and teens with possible handguns sent Garfield High School into a half hour “shelter in place” Monday.

According to Seattle Police radio updates, the incident began just after noon on the field near the 23rd Ave campus and involved at least one student victim and two teen suspects reported as possibly armed who fled the scene. Arriving officers recovered a weapon at the scene reported to be an airgun.

Garfield and nearby Nova High School reported going into shelter in place status beginning at 12:35 PM while many students were at lunch and stretching to just after 1 PM.

A possible teen suspect was taken into custody near Garfield’s campus just before 12:30 PM but police said the teen could not be identified as the perpetrator.

According to radio updates, one of the teens is also a suspect in a recent area armed robbery.

There were no reported serious injuries.

The school year at Garfield began with new efforts around gun concerns at the 23rd Ave campus and across the city as Seattle officials led by Mayor Bruce Harrell announced a $14.5 million plan focused on intervention, mental health, and increased use of “school-based safety specialist” private security guards following the deadly lunchtime shooting of teen Amarr Murphy-Paine last June in the Garfield campus parking lot.

 

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‘Inclusivity, equity, and accessibility’ — Seattle Parks working with Central District partners to plan $2.3M Judkins Park renovation

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Judkins Park (Image: Seattle Parks)

The Seattle Parks department and community partners including the Africatown Community Land Trust are gathering community feedback on a planned $2.3 million overhaul of the Central District’s Judkins Park.

Seattle Parks says it is working with Africatown Community Land Trust, No More Under, A Personal Point of View LLC, and Inclusion Matters, to renovate Judkins Park “to advance inclusivity, equity, and accessibility.”

“By leveraging public-private partnerships, the project aims to maximize benefits to the community,” the Seattle Parks announcement of the project reads. “The Judkins Park neighborhood’s history of redlining, displacement, and gentrification underscores the need for intentional efforts toward inclusivity and addressing disparities in access.”

A meeting will be held Thursday night to kick off community engagement around the project but you can also add your thoughts online via this survey with questions about features and programming you would like to see added to the six-acre park and playfield including ideas for shaping new spray park, inclusive playground, a nature sensory area, and an area for hillside play features. Continue reading →

911 | SPD investigating armed robberies at Domino’s and Chevron market

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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 reports from @jseattle or join and check in with neighbors in the CHS Facebook Group.

  • Domino’s hold-up: Police are investigating a series of armed robberies across the city this weekend including a hold-up at the Domino’s pizza on S Jackson Friday night that netted the bandits $300 in cash. According to the SPD brief on the incident, two suspects wearing masks entered the shop around 10:30 PM. One suspect armed with a handgun demanded cash. “As the manager came out from the back, one of the suspects walked behind the counter and held the gun to the side of the manager until he opened the register,” SPD reports. “The suspect grabbed the cash in the drawer and the two suspects ran out of the store eastbound.” Police say the King County Sheriff’s Guardian 1 helicopter and a KCSO K-9 unite assisted with tracking but the suspects could not be located. There were no reported injuries.
  • 12th Ave market hold-up: SPD says another area store was held up hours later. Around 4 AM, police were called to the 24-hour Chevron market near 12th and Jefferson to a reported armed robbery. Two suspects wearing masks and gloves reportedly entered the store with one of the suspects displaying a handgun and demanding cash from the register. “The suspects grabbed the cash in the drawer and tobacco products from behind the register,” SPD reports. The suspects fled a short distance on foot and then got into silver in color sedan last seen heading towards northbound. There were no arrests.
  • Central District gunfire: SPD investigated early morning gunfire on Sunday along 27th Ave —
    At 0655 hours, East Precinct officers responded to shots call and located evidence in a nearby intersection. The caller met with officers and provided additional evidence showing an unknown vehicle driving into the area and firing multiple rounds at the house located in the 1800 block of 27th Avenue. No people inside the residence were injured or were aware of the incident.
    SPD says it found no damage to the home or other nearby properties and the motivation for the shooting remains unknown.

 

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Victim identified as police say conflict over scooter led to deadly shooting at 12th and Spruce encampment

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Police say witness accounts from the 12th and Spruce encampment where a man was killed early Saturday helped lead them to a suspect in the shooting that detectives believe involved a deadly dispute over an electric scooter.

The King County Medical Examiner has identified the slain man as 39-year-old Carl Hatfield.

Monday, a King County Superior Court judge found probable cause to hold the suspect in the case. Police and SWAT took the 30-year-old into custody without incident Saturday afternoon at another nearby encampment after witnesses identified him to detectives. CHS is not identifying the suspect until prosecutors file charges.

According to the Seattle Police Department report on the 4:30 AM shooting, witnesses told police the victim was hanging out in the 12th and Spruce encampment’s “community tent” when a man identified as “Bender” arrived trying to sell an electric scooter he was riding. According to police, a dispute began as Hatfield asked if he remembered him and said Bender had previously stolen his phone. Continue reading →

Seattle Police investigating first East Precinct homicide of 2025 after man dies in shooting near youth jail campus — UPDATE: Arrest

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The new Seattle Police chief’s first weekend on the job includes a homicide investigation in the East Precinct.

Multiple callers reported gunfire early Saturday near the King County Youth Services facility just before 4:30 AM. SPD says arriving officers found a man down with a gunshot wound to the abdomen on E Spruce just south of the juvenile detention and court campus.

Seattle Fire arrived at 12th and Spruce about 10 minutes later to treat the victim and transport him to Harborview where SPD said he declared dead. Continue reading →

Flowers Just 4 U closing shop after 40 years of business in the CD

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(Image: CHS)

When you are ready to retire from the flower business, you are ready to retire — even if you are only a few weeks from Valentine’s Day.

Flowers Just 4 U will mark its final day of business Friday after 40 years in the Central District.

Owner Mary Wesley told the South Seattle Emerald earlier this month she has been holding out hope a buyer will come along to keep a flower business going at 23rd and Cherry. Wesley said she also was invited to reopen her business on the corner after the planned affordable Acer House development demolishes the old building and finishes construction. Continue reading →

Seattle outlines $22M in Equitable Development Initiative funding including boost for Central District’s Africatown Plaza

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Africatown Plaza (Image: David Baker Architects)

A program hoped to help slow and reverse displacement in Seattle has announced its latest roster of funding including $1 million to help open the Africatown Plaza affordable development in the Central District.

According to the announcement, Seattle’s Equitable Development Initiative is funding more than $22 million across 42 projects as part of the city’s effort to support property ownership in neighborhoods at high risk of displacement.

“Our city is steadfast in its commitment to delivering real results for communities disproportionately impacted by displacement,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said in the announcement. “With our largest investment in Equitable Development Initiative projects to date, we are taking meaningful steps to expand opportunities in our most marginalized communities and build a future where every Seattle resident can thrive. Continue reading →

CHS Pics | The messages of Seattle’s MLK Day march as Trump’s second term begins

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Thousands gathered at the Central District’s Garfield High School Monday to remember Martin Luther King Jr. and march against efforts to undermine his legacy and roll back progress around equity and civil rights.

The march on the crisp January day was part of a weekend of quiet protest in Seattle. Saturday, thousands took part in the city’s People’s March from Cal Anderson Park with signs and chants pledging resistance as Donald Trump begins his improbable second term in the White House. Continue reading →

‘We Rise Against Project 2025’ — MLK Day march part of weekend of rallies and protest in Seattle

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Monday is Inauguration Day in Washington D.C. — In the Central District, the day brings the MLK Day rally and march to Garfield High School. Organizers of the annual event to honor the life of the civil rights leader are fully embracing the contrast.

This year’s event from the volunteer-run MLK Jr Organizing Coalition is focused on the inauguration in D.C. with workshops and speakers addressing what is at risk. Continue reading →