From 9 a.m. on July 31st to 1:45 a.m. on Aug. 5, six black males between the ages of 18 and 25 are believed responsible for a “spree” of 10 robberies across Seattle, in some cases using guns and knives to threaten their victims, according to police.
Two of those attacks hit home, according to a Seattle Police Department plea for more information.
In the first West Seattle incident, the suspects (who are described as possibly East African or Somali and potentially driving a green Toyota Camry) surrounded a man on the 5500 block of 16th Ave. S.W. (near South Seattle Community College) around 11:30 p.m. on Aug.1, shoved him to the ground and stole his iPhone and money at gunpoint, according to police. This was only a half hour after they allegedly stole four pizzas from a delivery driver in Holly Park at knifepoint.
On Aug. 4 around noon, the same group is believed responsible for snatching another iPhone from a 13-year-old girl’s hands near 60th Ave. S.W. and Alki Ave. S.W.
Anyone with information on the suspects and any other victims are encouraged to call SPD’s robbery unit at 206-684-5535.
Here is the Seattle Police Department narrative on all 10 robberies, as posted on the SPD Blotter:
The string of 10 cases began just after 9 AM on July 31st, when a group of six male suspects cornered a teen in an alley behind the Beacon Hill library. One of the suspects lifted up his shirt, implying he had a gun, and stole the teen’s backpack, phone and bankcards.
Early the next morning, at 1:40 AM on August 1st, a car full of men a drove up to a woman near 56th and Latona and demanded her purse. When the victims refused and kept walking, the suspects got out of the car, pulled a gun on the victim and stole her purse before fleeing.
That night, around 11 pm, the suspects pulled a knife on a delivery driver in Holly Park and stole four pizzas. A half hour later, the suspects struck again in West Seattle, where they surrounded a man in the 5500 block of 16th Avenue S.W., shoved him to the ground, rifled through his pockets and stole his iPhone at gunpoint.
Again, around 3:30 AM on August 2nd, the same suspects grabbed a 28-year-old man near Harvard Avenue and E. Thomas Street, put him in a headlock and stole the man’s iPhone and wallet.
Almost exactly twenty-four hours later, two suspects—accompanied by a lookout— approached two men near 11th Avenue and E Pine Street, across the street from Cal Anderson Park. The suspects pulled a gun on the men, demanded their wallets and phones and then ordered them to walk away.
Half an hour later, around 4 AM, two of the suspects climbed into a victim’s car outside a Central District hookah bar, drew guns, and forced the victim to drive to Renton, where they pistol-whipped the man and stole his wallet before fleeing.
Detectives believe members of the same group snatched a woman’s purse at near Seneca and Broadway at about 3:45 AM on August 4th, and jumped into a waiting getaway car.
The same day, just after noon, one of the suspects ran up to a 13-year-old girl and stole an iPhone out of her hands near 60th Ave. S.W. and Alki Ave. S.W.
Finally, detectives believe several of the suspects followed two women down the street near 52ndand 15th Ave. N.E. around 1:45 AM on August 5th, demanded their purses at gunpoint and fled.
