Carjacking leads to NE Seattle pursuit and shots fired (UPDATES)

December 6, 2015 by 5 Comments

We’re still gathering details at this time, but a carjacking in another part of Seattle developed into a pursuit including shots fired from the fleeing vehicle in our area. We have numerous reports from residents of gunfire heard in the vicinity of 35th Ave NE between NE 75 and 65th Sts.

The suspect was taken into custody near NE 65th St and 35th Ave NE just after 2:00pm, and believed to be injured in the process.

Updates to follow.

 

UPDATE (2:18pm): We’re hearing of multiple motor vehicle collision scenes up and down 35th Ave NE. Recommend using 25th and 40th Aves NE for north-south travel through the area. Place to AVOID is 35th Ave NE between NE 65th and 75th Sts.

UPDATE (2:25pm): Here now some tweets from residents during the pursuit:

UPDATE (2:34pm): Residents started reporting hearing Seattle Police sirens around 1:30pm.

We know of three SPD vehicles smashed up during the pursuit, trying to stop the fleeing carjacked vehicle: NE 45th St and Roosevelt Way NE, on 35th Ave NE near NE 70th St, and another on NE 68th St at 38th Ave NE.

Seattle Police Department SUV damaged during the pursuit of a carjacked vehicle. Photo by Shaun Kherberg via twitter.

Seattle Police Department SUV damaged during the pursuit of a carjacked vehicle. Photo by Shaun Kherberg via twitter.

UPDATE (4:33pm): The Seattle Police Department Blotter has the timeline up now. In total, two cars stolen at gunpoint in two different locations, multiple shots fired, at least three SPD vehicles with major damage, several officers and uninvolved motorists invited in collisions, and one dead suspect.

Today’s incident began around 12:30 PM when the suspect entered a downtown coffee shop armed with a handgun, leading employees to call police.

The man then fled to a tattoo parlor at 2nd Avenue and Lenora Street leading to another 911 call. After leaving the shop, the suspect reportedly stole a red Volkswagen at gunpoint and drove to the Montlake area. There, the armed suspect reportedly stole a second vehicle.

Officers began pursuing the suspect in Montlake, where they reported coming under fire from the fleeing suspect.

The man then drove onto westbound 520 and northbound onto Interstate 5 before exiting in the Ravenna neighborhood.

The suspect fired at officers at Northeast 68th Street and 35th Avenue NE. Officers returned fire, fatally wounding the man. He is believed to be a white male in his 30s.

Filed Under: 911, Crime, Northeast Seattle, Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Police Department

Officer-involved hit and run; suspect flees into heart of Ravenna

July 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment

   BTW. This is smack in middle of Ravenna. This is a very quiet neighborhood. Use to live two blocks from this scene. pic.twitter.com/Gn6z6wtg26

— Photographer Fred (@PhotogFredKOMO) July 17, 2015

From the Seattle Police Department Blotter:

The officer was driving southbound on the freeway, just after 4 am, approaching the 65th Street exit, when the suspect vehicle intentionally rammed the patrol car from behind. The impact caused the officer’s vehicle to move across the lanes of traffic and into the embankment. The suspect vehicle then fled the scene.

Southbound I-5 north of NE 65th Street is affected to do the investigation at the hit and run scene.

From police scanner chat, it now looks as though the suspect fled in his vehicle east on NE 65th Street, and was stopped at Ravenna Avenue NE by officers. Homicide detectives are on scene now, as is Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole. Waiting on details from SPD to confirm an officer-involved shooting and the suspect being deceased.

At this time the intersection of NE 65th Street and Ravenna Avenue NE as well as the 6500 block of Ravenna Avenue NE is closed for police investigation.

More updates as we’re able.

 

UPDATE (5:44am): The main line of southbound I-5 is closed at this time from approximately NE 85th Street to NE 65th Street. WSDOT has opened the express lanes southbound for all traffic.

UPDATE (6:15am): The Seattle Police Department has confirmed that this was an officer-involved shooting on the 6500 block of Ravenna Avenue NE.

UPDATE (6:30am): one of the reporters at the scene notes that the body has not been cleared yet.

UPDATE (7:29am): NE 65th Street has reopened to traffic. Ravenna Avenue NE north of NE 65th Street remains closed due to the ongoing police investigation.
Filed Under: 911, Crime, Ravenna, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Police Department

RBCA Spring Community Meeting on May 5 (LIVE COVERAGE)

May 5, 2015 by 5 Comments

IMG_6178.JPGTonight, Tuesday, May 5, the Ravenna Bryant Community Association will hold their spring community meeting. The meeting is being held at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Avenue NE) from 7-9 PM.

These expanded-from-their-usual-board-meeting events tend to feature more widely-relevant speakers and a round of board member elections, and that’s just what’s on the agenda for tonight (from the RBCA website):

Guest Speakers:

Seattle Police Assistant Chief Steve Wilske
Commander of Patrol Operations

Capt. Dick Reed & Lt. George Bray
Seattle Police Department’s 9-1-1 Call Center

Followed by:
Election of 2015-16 RBCA Board Members
Community Announcements

 

We’ll be there, providing live coverage below.

UPDATE (7:11 PM): Agenda and nominees for the 2015-2016 board:

  

Filed Under: Bryant, Live Coverage, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Police Department

Here they come to snuff the Rooster (crane)

February 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Aww yeah*.

One of the two large cranes gracing the downtown Roosevelt skyline is moving on.

Rooster_crane

The Roosevelt Neighborhood Association has received word from the developer of the Rooster Apartments (902 NE 65th Street) that their contractor’s large construction crane is coming down on Saturday, February 28th. “NE 65th street will be shut down in front of the Rooster from 6am to 6pm. Traffic control will be on site detouring traffic around the site.”

Occupancy of the approximately 195-unit apartment building is still scheduled for the first week of August, says the developer (Lake Union Partners), with one of the first floor tenants, a fourth Portage Bay Cafe, opening this summer as well.

____________________

*Headline and first sentence by Alice in Chains, of course. Probably the last time we’ll use it. Probably.

Filed Under: Businesses, Construction, Food, Open/Closed, Restaurants, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department, Traffic

Bank robbery suspect IN CUSTODY after Monday attempt

December 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment

First there were reports of two SPD patrol cars heading east on NE 75th Street at 20th Avenue NE, then a sighting of four patrol cars “lined up” in the area of Top Pot Doughnuts (near NE 70 Street and 35th Avenue NE).

The next bit of information I’m usually looking for after a Wedgwood bank robbery is a notice from Seattle Public Schools that a shelter-in-place is occurring while officers search for the suspect.

Instead, the Seattle Police Department twitter feed shared this bit of happy news:

More info when we get it.

UPDATE (12:48 PM): News chopper spotted hovering in the area.

Filed Under: Crime, Ravenna, Seattle Police Department, Wedgwood

Another bank branch robbed, local schools shelter in place (UPDATES)

October 30, 2014 by 4 Comments

Just before noon on Thursday, October 30, a resident on NE 75th Street spotted three SPD vehicles high-tailing it east towards Wedgwood.

They were heading toward a bank robbery on the 7300 block of 35th Avenue NE.

Police are looking for a white male in his 50s, 5-feet, 4-inches tall, 135 pounds, wearing a black coat with a grey hoodie, jeans, and a cap (reads “Grizzly” in white stitching). The suspect is possibly armed.

Picture taken of the suspect inside the bank, via Seattle Police.

Picture taken of the suspect inside the bank, via Seattle Police.

If you see anyone matching this description, call 911 immediately.

UPDATE (12:13 PM): Schools in the vicinity of the bank robbery are sheltering in place (no one outside the buildings, outside doors locked, inside business as usual). These schools are: Eckstein Middle, Thornton Creek Elementary, View Ridge Elementary, Bryant Elementary, and Wedgwood Elementary (reported by Principal Doug Ouellette on twitter).

UPDATE (12:25 PM): Lockdowns at the previously mentioned schools was lifted at 12:15 PM.

UPDATE (12:32 PM): The previous bank robbery on 35th Avenue NE happened almost exactly two weeks ago, one block up the street from today’s. The descriptions of both suspects appear to be the same, but we have no confirmation from Seattle Police that this was the same individual in both cases.

UPDATE (2:36 PM): Seattle Schools has corrected their earlier list of schools that had sheltered in place this afternoon: View Ridge Elementary was not affected and did not shelter-in-place.

Filed Under: 911, Bryant Elementary School, Crime, Eckstein Middle School, Ravenna, Seattle Police Department, Thornton Creek, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Elementary School

Bank robbery near NE 75th Street and 35th Avenue NE (UPDATES)

October 16, 2014 by 1 Comment

Just before noon on Thursday, neighbors reported seeing multiple Seattle Police Department patrol cars in the vicinity of NE 75 Street and 35th Avenue NE.

We have since learned that Seattle Police were responding to a bank robbery in the area.

Via the SPD Twitter feed:

Police searching for bank robber near
7500 blk 35th Ave NE. Susp is white male, 50s, 5’3, denim jacket/jeans, black hat, may be armed.

Seattle Public Schools had local schools in shelter-in-place mode around the same time as police arrived on the scene. The list of schools includes Eckstein, Bryant, Thornton Creek, View Ridge, and Wedgwood.

UPDATE (12:35 PM): Unconfirmed as of yet by SPD, but attention seems to be on the coin store Chase Bank on 35th Avenue NE just north of NE 75th Street.

Here is an image from KIRO’s Chopper 7 which could be heard hovering over our area earlier:

Also, the shelter-in-place was lifted at local schools moments ago.

UPDATE (2:18 PM): The Seattle Police Department Blotter has a post up now about the robbery. Unfortunately, it does not contain the words “in custody.”

If you have any information on today’s bank robbery (in the 7500 block of 35th Avenue NE), please call the police at 625-5011.

UPDATE (2:31 PM): University Prep (8000 25th Ave NE) was in “modified lockdown” from 12:15-12:35 PM.

Filed Under: Bryant Elementary School, Businesses, Crime, Eckstein Middle School, Private Schools, Ravenna, Seattle Police Department, Thornton Creek, Updates, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Elementary School

Public School First Day of Class Eve power outages (UPDATES)

September 2, 2014 by 1 Comment

If your VCR is blinking “12:00” when you get home tonight, this is why:

power_outage_sept_2

Around 3:30 this afternoon, Seattle City Light customers along NE 75th Street from Roosevelt to View Ridge lost power. About 3700 customers were affected, with the cause listed as “Tree” on the city’s power outage page.

Then, about an hour later (after partial restoration to the earlier affected area), a large wedge-shaped swath north of about NE 80th Street between Lake City Way NE and Lake Washington also lost power. About 8,600 customers are affected in this area, with many traffic signals on Lake City Way and other arterials out.

Seattle City Light has crews dispatched and estimates the time of restoration to be 7:20 PM. Cause for this second, larger outage is also listed as “Tree.”

An online weather station in the Bryant neighborhood registered four gusts of wind above 20 mph after 2 PM. The barometer continues to fall as well, so we may be in for more blustery weather.

UPDATE (5:43 PM): Seattle City Light saying on twitter that many customers should start seeing power back in the next 45 minutes.

UPDATE (10:08 PM): A brief yet heavy rain around 6: 20 PM knocked out power to another small group of homes. SCL saying at this time that approximately 482 customers are still without power. Estimated restoration time for this group — 34th to 46th Avenues NE on the west and east, and NE 110th to 97th Streets north and south — is after midnight, possibly 2 AM.

Filed Under: Northeast Seattle, Power Outage, Seattle City Light, Traffic, Updates

Rollover collision near northbound I-5/Lake City Way exit

August 3, 2014 by 1 Comment

Shortly after 3 AM, Seattle Fire Department units responded to a rollover collision near or on the I-5 offramp to Lake City Way.

I5_LCW_MCI

Via scanner, we’ve learned there are six patients: Three patients with life-threatening injuries and three with non-life-threatening All six have been transported from the scene to area hospitals in stable and with non-life-threatening injuries, the fire department said via twitter.

The collision has the two right lanes of I-5 blocked, with traffic slowly moving through on the left. We expect northbound traffic on I-5 through the area to be impacted for some time as the collision is investigated.

You can see current highway conditions and the I-5/LCW WSDOT camera here.

UPDATE (7:06 AM): Washington State Patrol has more information on this incident:

Filed Under: 911, Roosevelt, Seattle Fire Department, Traffic

Power outage in south Ravenna as tree downs power lines (PHOTOS; UPDATES)

August 2, 2014 by 3 Comments

52nd_Ravenna_fire1

Some wild weather this Saturday morning took a toll on the local electricity infrastructure.


View Downed tree causes brush fire, power outage in a larger map

Just before 10 AM, just after some heavy rains had fallen over the area, a tree on a hillside near NE 50th Street and Ravenna Avenue NE became unstable. The tree, or part of it, fell against some power lines and ignited a fire that was first reported as a house fire, but was downgraded later to a brush fire. Downed lines could be seen in the trees on the hillside as well as in the road below it.

52nd_Ravenna_fire4

The affected hillside is just to the south of the Raven View Apartments (5001 25th Avenue NE). This section of Ravenna Avenue NE is a dead end, and residents south of the downed lines were unable to use the road until the scene was deemed safe by Seattle City Light crews.

52nd_Ravenna_fire5

As a Seattle City Light crew worked to move the lines from the road, the downed lines on the hillside ignited another small brush fire.

52nd_Ravenna_fire3

52nd_Ravenna_outage

The ensuing outage affected about 2,000 customers. The estimated time of restoration is 2:41 PM, but some residents of the area have reported lights coming back on already.

UPDATE (1:21 PM): Seattle City Light reporting that power is coming back for another round of residents:

UPDATE (2:08 PM): Seattle City Light has updated the estimated power restoration time to 5:45 PM, over three hours later than the original estimate.

52nd_Ravenna_fire_6

Here is a picture of what Seattle City Light crews are up against as they make repairs at the incident site (picture taken from Ravenna Avenue NE looking southwest toward where the tree or tree limb downed some of the lines). The conditions at the scene are anything but ideal for SCL crews: Lots of tall, wild greenery and trees on a hillside, with the lines on the uphill slope.

UPDATE (5:22 PM): Seattle City Light says, “[c]rews have restored about 1,000 customers from the NE Seattle outage. About 850 homes and businesses remain out. Crews still working.”

UPDATE (5:43 PM): All but 57 Seattle City Light customers have power restored. Estimated restoration time for the remaining residents and businesses is 10 PM as remaining fixes require the replacement of the downed lines.

Filed Under: 911, Photos, Ravenna Springs, Seattle City Light, Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Police Department
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