White Center Now: The blog about White Center

No arrests yet in a shooting Monday afternoon in North Shorewood, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office. It happened just after 3:30 pm Monday in the 2600 block of SW 110th. KCSO would only say it happened “in or near a garage of a home” and that one person was shot. The area resident who sent the photo said it appeared the victim was a woman and that firefighters/medics said she was critically injured. If you have any information, the KCSO case number to refer to when reporting it is C22027189.

Thanks for the tip about that crash at 26th/108th. Deputies told us at the scene that the driver hit a parked car and went up over the curb, stopped by a tree. No major injuries but the driver was being checked out by Tri-Med. No major traffic impact by the time we got there, either, and a tow truck had arrived.

In case you happened onto the closure at 26th SW/SW 106th tonight – this is why. The two-car collision did not result in nny serious injuries, deputies told us. When we were there, they were still trying to sort out what happened, but tow trucks were already arriving to clear the scene and reopen the intersection.

3:47 PM: Avoid the 26th/107th [map] intersection for a while. King County Sheriff’s Deputies are swarming the area after a 3-vehicle crash that followed gunfire from a car a short time ago; the intersection is blocked off.

One person is reported to be in custody and another possible suspect is being sought. The Guardian One helicopter was there for a while to help (and at least one TV helicopter showed up later). Deputies have described the car from which someone was shooting as a white BMW sedan. … We’re at the scene now, added a photo, working to find out how the injured people are doing.

4:41 PM: We just talked to KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Tim Meyer. He says the car that was being shot at is a Toyota Corolla carjacked in Seatac (updated) on Saturday; it collided with two other cars at 26th/107th. Two people were in the Corolla after the crash, 1 ran, and was subsequently found. All three plus two people from the other cars were hurt, but none by gunfire so far as authorities can tell. No major injuries. The car from which someone shot at the Corolla, after some kind of dispute, is still at large. The three people in the Corolla are described as in their teens.

KCSO expects the intersection to be closed for at least 2 more hours. We have all this on video and will add that when our crew’s back. (added) Here it is:

7:35 PM: Nearby resident Jim says the vehicles are being towed, so the intersection might not be closed much longer.

That’s everything you need to know about a great way to start your weekend – 9 am-1 pm Saturday (September 14th), North Shorewood Park needs TLC, and that means you. Thanks to Gill Loring for sharing the announcement!

First it was Guardian One, as tweeted below, and then TV following up:

(Adapted from original as-it-happened coverage on partner site West Seattle Blog – smoke was visible for miles around)

Thanks to Colby for that photo, the first we received from a house fire this afternoon near 26th SW and SW 109th.

The smoke had subsided by the time our crew arrived at the fire scene – thanks to those who tipped us via text and voice on our hotline (206-293-6302). This is in the North Highline Fire District’s jurisdiction; other departments including Seattle Fire sent units as mutual aid (including Engine 11):

Big response overall.

One person suffered minor injuries, we’re told, and was treated at the scene. By 3:45 pm, the fire (at 10907 26th SW) was out or close to it, our crew reported, and investigators were on the way to try to find out how it started.

(White Center Now/West Seattle Blog photo by Patrick Sand)

11:59 AM: Thanks for the tips – 26th SW between White Center/Shorewood and West Seattle is blocked right now by a crash response at the intersection where SW 106th becomes 107th because of the crash in our photo above. Our crew is told 2 vehicles were involved and one person was taken to Harborview. King County’s major crash investigations team is on the way out so this might be closed for a while. Our crew says east-west traffic is being allowed through one lane at a time, but we would advise avoiding the area entirely. We will check back at the scene later; if you see it open again before we update, please let us know, text or voice, 206-293-6302 – thank you!

12:11 PM: Metro has sent a re-route alert because of this – “not serving stop at 26th/106th, use stop at Seola Beach Dr. SW & SW 106th or 26th/SW 100th.”

2:21 PM: The intersection remains fully blocked.

3:53 PM: Metro has just texted/tweeted that the bus stop on 26th SW is open again, which we’ll take as word that the intersection has reopened to all traffic.

(WCN photo – deputies conferring behind the McDonald’s in the search zone)

8:27 PM: Thanks to everybody asking about this – scanner traffic confirms a search is under way near Ambaum/114th for a suspect, and that’s brought out the Guardian One helicopter, with a King County Sheriff’s Office K-9 on the way too. We haven’t heard what the suspect is being sought for, but deputies do seem to know who they are looking for, and it’s someone reported to have a record. Right now the search scene includes the storage business across from the Ambaum McDonald’s; one reader tells us they’ve also seen deputies a bit further south. We’re heading out to see what more we can find out, and we’ll update if/when we hear anything more.

ADDED: The Guardian One crew tweeted some information shortly after we had checked their feed and saw nothing. They tweeted, “In White Center, looking for white male, 6-2, black running shorts and shaved head. Wanted for assault and warrant. Ran from McDonald’s.”

8:52 PM UPDATE: We are in the area now and just talked briefly to deputies. They say the assault allegation involves domestic violence. Guardian One is still circling.

9:32 PM UPDATE: We left the area a little while ago, same time that the helicopter departed – which wasn’t because of an arrest, but because they had to refuel. Meantime, a KCSO K-9 team had arrived for a search in the area. So far, we haven’t heard of anyone being taken into custody, but are continuing to monitor, and if we don’t hear anything definitive sooner, we’ll check with KCSO’s media-relations officer in the morning to see if they have anything new to report. Our understanding is that the victim did not require hospitalization.

We finally have some information this morning about last night’s SWAT response at a house on Marine View Drive SW in Shorewood. Some thought it was happening at Shorewood Elementary, as some of the King County Sheriff’s Office/Burien Police units were staging there. We monitored scanner traffic for a while in hopes of finding out more; finally, after midnight, the SWAT team went in and discovered one man dead inside the house. What we still didn’t know by that point was why they had gone to the house in the first place. Here’s what KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West told us this morning in response to our inquiry: “Last night after 9 pm a woman called 911 and said that her husband had threatened to shoot her and himself. The woman was able to flee the residence. When police arrived the man was inside and would did not respond when police told him to exit the house. TAC30 (SWAT) was called and when they eventually entered, they found the man dead (from) an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.”

In reports that involve suicide, we always mention this resource – the Crisis Clinic, which has a 24-hour hotline, 206-461-3222.

In case you saw this and wondered – a Highline Public Schools bus was involved in a collision with a car at 28th SW and SW 106th this morning, but everyone on the bus is OK, and were being transferred to the other bus you see in our photo, according to a KCSO deputy on the scene. The driver was being checked out for what was described as a possible wrist injury. Tow crews were arriving and this wasn’t expected to impede traffic for too much longer.

Repairs should be complete by now near 19th and 104th, where Seattle Public Utilities confirms a water main broke around noon today. SPU spokesperson Ingrid Goodwin confirms to WCN that three customers lost water service for a few hours; crews were scheduled to be on site until around 4 pm, backfilling the hole they had to cut to make repairs. Also from Goodwin: “It was a 6-inch cast-iron pipe that broke. And, we don’t know the cause of the break at this time.”

Out of the WCN inbox, from Erin:

Just wanted to let folks know our house was broken into in the 11000 block of 22nd Ave SW (map) between the hours of 10-11 am (Tuesday). Garbage trucks probably rolled by while it was in progress; we’ve put in a call to see if they saw anything. Thief took a crowbar to a basement window; I’d like to just take a moment to remind everyone to put dowels in any sliding windows and keep a list of serial numbers…they were obviously looking for stuff that could be easily carried away and pawned.

Katy Terry, deputy director of King County Parks, came to North Shorewood Park on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the official grand opening of its brand-new play area. The celebration was part of King County Parks’ 75th birthday, so of course there was cake:

The play-area project cost about $117,000, with the money coming from a Community Development Block Grant and county parks-levy money.

What? You don’t know where North Shorewood Park is? 24th SW and SW 102nd.

We first heard about it from tipster Gill (who also shared the photo), while the work was under way – and now, not only is the North Shorewood Park play area open, there’s a dedication event planned tomorrow:

Everyone is invited to join King County Parks in celebrating the grand opening of a new play area at North Shorewood Park on Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 5-7 p.m., with the official program commencing at 5:30 p.m. The park is located at 24th Avenue Southwest and Southwest 102nd Street in White Center.

The new playground equipment replaces outdated equipment that had reached the end of its lifecycle, and features a slide and other interactive elements for children aged 3 – 12 years old. The $117,000 project was funded by a grant from the Community Development Block Grant program and by the 2007-2013 Open Space and Trails Levy.

Thanks to Gill Loring for photos and news about a weekend event to beautify North Shorewood Park – organized by King County Parks and featuring Seattle Works volunteers as well as Friends of NSP:

We had a great time. The weather was perfect for working. Cleaned out around trees planted last year, added a few more and barked them to help keep down the weeds.

Cleared out along the trails and picked up trash. Several kids from the neighborhood showed up to use the basketball hoop and found it “busy” with a truck parked under it.

A wonderful thing happened – they volunteered to help, pulled on some Seattle Works tees and dug right in. According to Mark from KC Parks, they wanted to know if they could come back (Sunday) and help some more! Nope, just a one-day event.

More than two weeks after Alan Polevia was the subject of an air and land manhunt centered in Shorewood on March 5th, with school lockdowns ensuing – he’s back behind bars. The Shorewood search followed a sighting of him in that area days after he escaped from officers while being taken to Harborview Medical Center after an arrest on theft warrants. Sgt. Cindi West from the King County Sheriff’s Office tells WCN today that deputies arrested him Friday night after discovering him “rummaging through a dumpster behind a building” on SW 137th in Burien. He at first told deputies his name was Alex Polevia, says Sgt. West; they used a photo and tattoo descriptions to identify him as Alan, and they say he subsequently “apologized for lying about his name.”

(One of more than half a dozen law-enforcement cars scattered around the search area)
9:42 AM: The King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One is over the Shorewood/White Center area again, according to reader reports, confirmed by KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West, who confirms the helicopter is assisting with a ground search. No details just yet – so far it does not seem to be related to the recent search in that area. We’re headed that way and will update when there’s more information available.

10 AM: The search and ground “containment” are over a wide area, somewhat further south of the aforementioned recent search. A K-9 officer is helping too. On our Facebook page, one resident says Evergreen High School and Cascade Middle School are taking “modified lockdown” precautions – we have not yet verified that with Highline Public Schools, but it would be typical for any kind of search situation within a mile or two. (Added: Commenters say Shorewood Elementary is in lockdown too.)

10:22 AM: Here’s what Sgt. West just told us: Deputies pulled over a car that turned out to be stolen. One man who had a car-theft warrant out for his arrest took off running. He is a light-complexion Hispanic male in his 30s, puffy gray sweatshirt, blue jeans. They advise staying in your house because they have a K-9 search going on. We also have received the message that Highline Schools is sending to parents. From district spokesperson Catherine Carbone Rogers:

This morning at about 9:35 a.m. we were advised to go into a modified lockdown due to police activity in the area. This is a standard precautionary measure.

The safety of our students is our number one priority. During a modified lockdown, students can move about inside the school but not outside. For the safety of both students and parents, we do not alert parents while a lockdown is in progress or allow students to contact their parents by cell phone. This is an emergency management best practice. Police do not want parents to come to school to retrieve their children, because that could put the parent in danger and/or could compromise the police investigation.

Please know that your child’s safety is the central purpose of all our emergency procedures.

And Sgt. West reiterates that if you see or hear anything/anyone suspicious, call 911.

10:42 AM: Sgt. West says they arrested the suspect.

11:53 AM: You might have noticed the helicopters – the King County Sheriff’s Office has serious presence in Shorewood right now looking for a man who escaped deputies last week at Harborview Medical Center. He’d been taken there after being arrested on theft warrants; he apparently had ingested drugs. He was handcuffed when he bolted there on February 25th; KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West tells us a man believed to be the escapee was spotted at Shorewood Market earlier this morning; he dropped a duffel bag believed to contain stolen property, and ran. They think he’s still in the area of the market and have just brought in a K-9 patrol. Here’s his mug shot:

Read more about the case in this Monday update from CapitolHillSeattle.com. KCSO says suspect Alan Polevia’s head is now shaven, since that photo. He is described as 5’8″ and about 170 pounds. Here’s what Sgt. West told us in an interview at the search scene:

We’ll continue checking back for word on whether he’s been caught.

4:13 PM: No capture reported yet. But here’s an updated mugshot:

We’ve also learned about the suspect’s background – tied to some high-profile incidents in West Seattle; details are in our report on partner site West Seattle Blog.

We got a note from Beth in Shorewood, asking about a search that her neighbors heard might involve “a man with a gun.” King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West says it started around 4:30 pm when deputies tried to stop “two suspicious subjects … in the area of 117th/Ambaum. Apparently when they were attempting to pat one of them down deputies saw a gun in his waistband. The subject ran. We are looking for him. I understand we know who he is and he is NOT a convicted felon.” So that’s what the search is about. No reports of any injuries related to this.