Shooting at NE 75th St and 15th Ave NE on Friday night (UPDATES)

UPDATE (Monday, September 10): The Seattle Police Department has released a sketch of the suspect, as well as some other additional information.

Shortly after two local residents reported hearing “four ‘pops’ in rapid succession” and then a “[h]elicopter overhead, sirens everywhere,” came this post on the Seattle Police Department’s Blotter:

Tonight at approximately 7:26 p.m. officers responded to the 7500 block of 15th Avenue NE for the report of multiple shots fired. Officers arrived on scene and located a male victim in his 40′s who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

The victim, a man in his 40s, was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
View August 31 shooting in a larger map The circumstances just prior to the shooting (as well as description of the suspect and the vehicle) are not available at this time, says the Blotter post. However, a local scanner listener reports hearing talk of a “pos suspect driving a red BMW convertible.” We will update this post with any new information on the victim and/or suspect(s) as we get it.

UPDATE (9:14 PM): KING 5’s Jim Forman was at the scene at 7:55 PM and tweeted the following (click the links for photos of the scene):

UPDATE (11:46 PM): KING 5 reported in their 11 PM newscast that the shooting victim has died of his injuries. The Seattle Times has more details about the shooting here.

UPDATE (Saturday, September 1, 6:16 AM): The SPD Blotter post has been updated overnight with more information, including this description of the shooting:

Preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect pulled up next to the victim in his car and for reasons yet to be determined, fired multiple rounds at the victim, striking him several times. The suspect then fled the scene in his car and remains at large.

The suspect is described as a white male with dark hair, age 20 to 30, driving a smaller silver or grey BMW. Anyone with information about this incident (identity of the shooter and/or his vehicle) should call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line at (206) 233-5000. Anonymous tips are welcome.

UPDATE (Saturday, September 1, 5:56 PM): Ravenna resident Jake Z. has taken a few pictures of a growing memorial at the site of the shooting (click the links below if the images are not visible):

UPDATE (Sunday, September 2): The SPD Blotter has been updated with more information on the shooting, including a more detailed description of the suspect and his vehicle:

The suspect’s vehicle is described as a silver BMW Z4 convertible. The car may have recent body damage including a broken out passenger side window.
Several witnesses describe the suspect as a well-dressed White or Asian male in his late 20′s to 30′s with dark, slicked-back hair.

The car looks similar to this one (image from the SPD Blotter):

20120902-191012.jpg

Footage from a surveillance camera in the Roosevelt Reservoir shows the vehicle on 15th Ave NE around the time of the shooting:

It is now believed that the shooting “may have been directly related to a road rage type of traffic incident.

Python loose in the park! But which park?

We got a voice mail from North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Terrie Johnston this afternoon at 2:50 PM, saying, “I hope you’re not at Cowen Park playfield…uh playground. A seven-foot yellow python got loose and he’s headed for the playground.”

Now, that’s an amusing story, but Cowen Park is not in Ravenna. So I just mention the missing snake on twitter, like this:

A few minutes later, the official Seattle Police Department twitter feed says this:

Oh no! Wrong neighborhood! And wrong park! Lower case “p” or not, people are going to get confused!

But I check with Terrie Johnston again, to make sure. “61st and Brooklyn Cowen Park” is the email reply.


View Snake on the loose! in a larger map

Decidedly NOT Ravenna Park.

But the damage has been done. The SPD tweet has now been REtweeted over 300 times (probably because of that “Snakes on a Plane” movie reference being clever and all).

And, of course, someone has started a new twitter feed…FOR THE SNAKE:

Thankfully, the SPD just updated the story on their blog, and you can read it here (“Officers On Python Patrol After Snake Escapes In Ravenna Neighborhood“).

An excerpt for you:

As police officers and officials from Seattle parks department and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife search the neighborhood and Cowen/Ravenna Park for the snake, you and your small pets should keep to the trails, and stay away from drainage ditches, thick foliage, and hollow logs, according to Seattle’s resident snake expert, Peter Miller.

Miller, reptile keeper at Woodland Park Zoo, estimates the snake is around 15-20 pounds and says it “has the potential” to be dangerous. ”These guys are ambush predators,” he says. “They find a well protected covered area and they sit and they wait.”

KING 5 news Reporter John Langeler got the location right, though:

And it looks like Seattle Parks and Recreation has put up signage.

John Langeler / KING 5

If Timid the Albino Python is found (yeah, his name is Timid), we’ll let you know here.

Mini-craft fair at Boulevard Grocery

The reincarnated Boulevard Grocery (2007 NE Ravenna Blvd) is holding their second mini-craft fair this afternoon, Sunday, August 12, from noon-3 PM, in front of the store.

A selection of vegetable portrait postcards by Chavas Garden.

Some of the vendors and their wares include:

There will also be face painting for the young (and young-at-heart).

Another great opportunity to check out the little store, too, if you haven’t already!

Power outage along NE 65th St blamed on crow

Shortly before 1:00 PM this afternoon, sections of seven Northeast Seattle neighborhoods lost power. At peak, approximately 3,800 customers were affected.

Screen capture of the outage at its peak taken from Seattle City Light’s System Status webpage.

Parts of Roosevelt, Ravenna, Bryant, Wedgwood, View Ridge, and Sand Point all took a hit along NE 65th St, while nearly all of Windermere went down. The estimated time of restoration was listed at 3 PM, but many customers are seeing their lights coming back on ahead of that time.

Last week’s outage was blamed on a tree (and the high winds helped, we imagine). But what’s to blame this time?

A crow. Nature is out to get us, apparently.

Flue fire gets the works on the fourth

A full Seattle Fire response filled the streets near the intersection of 25th Ave NE and NE Blakeley St shortly before noon on Wednesday, July 4.

20120705-101015.jpg

Photo above taken from the east side of 25th Ave NE looking north. Photo courtesy Thomas Field.

A small fire had started in a cooking flue extending from the roof of the multi-story, multi-use building at the northwest corner of the intersection.

Kyle Moore of the Seattle Fire Department shared the details (via email):

At 11:45 a.m. a 911 call came in to the Fire Alarm Center reporting smoke coming from the roof of a building in the 5100 block of 25th Avenue NE. Dispatchers sent a full-response which involved 6 engines, 2 ladder trucks and a medic unit, an aid unit and other apparatus.

University District’s Ladder Company 9 arrived first and ran an aerial to the roof to investigate the source of the smoke. Firefighters used thermal imagers to detect the fire was confined to a flue at the roof. Crew used water from their pump cans which are basically large fire extinguishers to knock down the fire.

After some investigation, firefighters learned that residue had built up in the flue and caught fire. The owners of the flue were advised to clean the pipe regularly.

Two blown transformers heard to be blamed for NE Seattle power outage (UPDATES)

UPDATE (2:58 PM): A quick check of the outage map reveals everything back to normal.

UPDATE (2:08 PM): Outage down to approximately 1,200 customers now.

UPDATE (1:03 PM): outage is down to approximately 1,800 customers Mostly in the Matthews Beach/View Ridge area of the map below affected.

____________________

No, it’s not a comment on any Michael Bay movies — it’s a power outage.

Seattle City Light outage map screen grab from 12:45 PM.

More info on the Seattle City Light’s Power Lines blog:

Seattle City Light crews were responding to a power outage Tuesday that affected about 3,600 homes and businesses in the Ravenna, Roosevelt, View Ridge and Wedgwood neighborhoods of northeast Seattle.

The outage started about 11:20 a.m. A cause was not immediately known. An initial estimate for restoration of service was set for 3 p.m.

The general boundaries of the outage were NE 94th Street on the north, NE 65th Street on the south, Roosevelt Way NE on the west and Lake Washington on the east.

As of this posting, the cause is listed as “tree,” and the restoration time is estimated at 3:00 PM.

As we were calling the North Precinct about the dangerous traffic conditions at 15th Ave NE and NE 75th St — signals are out and many drivers on NE 75th St are not noticing and treating as a four-way stop — the officer on the other end of the phone blamed the outage on two transformers lost from the tops of poles, but we haven’t had confirmation of the exact cause from Seattle City Light.

Community meeting Tuesday night spotlights public safety (UPDATE)

UPDATE (3:39 PM): The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association twitter feed reports that “N. Precinct Lt. Rasmussen, or Captain Robin Clark, to attend tomorrow’s meeting and answer questions about the shooting.”


____________________

Tomorrow night’s Ravenna-Bryant Community Association community meeting focuses on different aspects of public safety, and includes both Councilmember Bruce Harrell and North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Terrie Johnston as featured speakers.

The meeting takes place Tuesday night, June 5, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE), and starts at 7 PM.

Other speakers include Paulo Nunes-Ueno, Director of Transportation at Children’s Hospital (speaking about Greenways), and Laurie Ames from the Department of Neighborhoods (speaking about Neighborhood Matching Funds).

You can see the full agenda here, on the RBCA website.

“Walk for Love” this evening, starting at Cowen Park

Jens Wazel and Lucia Neare of Lucia Neare’s Theatrical Wonders are organizing a “Walk for Love” tonight, starting at 8:30 PM, at Cowen Park (5849 15th Ave NE).

For people who didn’t have a chance to pay their respects at Cafe Racer last night, here is another chance to gather with friends and neighbors.

Via email from Jens and Lucia:

We are all deeply saddened by the recent tragic events in our city. Please join us tonight, Thursday, May 31, for an evening walk through the Ravenna and U-District neighborhoods. Let’s gather and bring our love and light to these neighborhoods and the entire city.

Please meet us at 8:30 pm on the ball field at Cowen Park, 5849 15th Ave NE, from where we will start the walk.

Come as you are. If you like, we invite you to wear white and bring a light, bell, or rose.

Love to all.

You can RSVP to the event on facebook here.

You can read about their mission here.

Summer Parks and Recreation course registration starts Tuesday

Summer is really just around the corner, no matter what the recent weather has you believing.

Registration for Summer 2012 Seattle Parks and Recreation classes and camps begins tomorrow, Tuesday, May 22.

Click the image to download the Summer 2012 Seattle Parks and Recreation brochure for Northeast Seattle (4.7 MB PDF)

Course registration can be done either in-person at your local community center, or online with SPARC (Seattle Parks and Recreation Connection. However, camp registration SHOULD be done at the center where the camp is being held. There is paperwork that accompanies camp registration which each center needs on location.

The front desk at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community center is open Monday through Friday from 12:30 to 8:30 PM, and Saturdays from 9 AM to 2 PM.

Fall registration begins August 7.

Your Moment of Ravenna Zen: Falling cherry tree blossoms

In mid-May of last year, I happened to be at the playground at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center on a breezy sunny day. And every time the wind hit the blossoming cherry trees it would cause a cascade of petals to fall to the ground. It was so beautiful. So I took some pictures, and some video.

This week’s Moment of Ravenna Zen: Two minutes and thirty-eight seconds of falling cherry tree blossoms. (In the background you can hear the wind, children playing, a jet plane going by, and my son saying, “Look at all that snow!”)

Do YOU have a Moment of Ravenna Zen to share? Email rebecca@ravennablog.com, or use our handy dandy comment form to tell us about it.