Guns and gangs and rumors

Shoreline Police station on N 185th
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

By Diane Hettrick

There have been three police actions in Shoreline in the past few days, two on Wednesday and one the previous Friday.

All have raised a lot of speculation in the community.

Most serious was the resident with the gunshot wound on NE 195th. (Shoreline man shot in leg refuses to cooperate with police). The man was shot in the leg and taken to Harborview for treatment.

During the police and fire response the road was blocked off. News helicopters circled overhead, angling for the best shots.

The victim is still refusing to cooperate with police. However, he is going to be serving a prison sentence for a drug crime. The case is still under investigation.

Also on Wednesday police received a call that a man in a red pickup truck on 175th near I-5 had a gun. Police responded and located the truck and driver. There was no gun but the driver did have an outstanding felony warrant.

On Friday, June 9, three individuals - two males and a female - were pounding on an apartment door at the Chateau Apartments on 18008 15th Ave NE and trying to force their way in. Reportedly one had a baseball bat. Alarmed neighbors called the police.

While police were on route, the three had already left and were walking down the street. Police contacted them and while they were talking to them, several people from the apartment came out and there was a disturbance. Apparently this was related to a fight between some in the two groups a couple days prior.

Officers had to detain a subject who was trying to start a fight. By this time, the sidewalks were full of onlookers who came out of the apartments and businesses to see what was going on.

In the end nobody wanted to assist with prosecution, and no arrests were made.

In response to the question of whether any of this was gang-related, Shoreline Police say that "We don’t see a lot of obvious gang activity. We’re aware of some outside investigations of people living in Shoreline who have been involved in gang activity. In the report of the Friday incident there was some clothing described, nothing admitted, or confirmed. Most of the graffiti we see is related to transients and juveniles."