Update 7:30am
Information from Seattle Police
Police are searching for a group of suspects who crashed their vehicle while fleeing from police, and later fired a shot while stealing a pickup truck at gunpoint in West Seattle on Thursday.
Around 2:40 PM, police received a report that a group of two men and a woman were attempting to load a Jeep onto a trailer, near 40th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Dakota Street, which a 911 caller found suspicious.
When officers went to the scene to check on the group, the trio quickly left the area. Officers found them in an SUV a short distance away and once again attempted to contact them. The group refused to stop their SUV and drove south on West Marginal Way Southwest.
Officers found the suspects’ SUV about two miles away after the suspects tried to weave around traffic and crashed into an oncoming motorist at West Marginal Way Southwest and Highland Park Way Southwest.
The suspects then confronted the driver of a pickup truck in a nearby drive-thru line. The driver struggled with the suspects until one of the suspects fired a handgun, leading the driver to abandon his vehicle.
The suspects then fled southbound in the stolen pickup truck. Police were able to recover the stolen pickup in West Seattle and continue to search for the suspects.
Update 4:30pm
The intersection at West Marginal Way SW and Highland Park Way SW is now clear and traffic is restored. No word on the status of the investigation into the carjacking that caused the traffic snarl shortly before 3pm.
Original Post
Seattle Pollice are investigating a report of a carjacking near W Marginal Wy SW / Highland Park SW. The roads are blocked in the area as they continue to search for the suspect(s). This took place before 3pm. Avoid the area.