SEATTLE — Seattle police said Tuesday that they are still working to track down two men after shots were fired at the city’s Navigation Center homeless shelter Saturday evening.
Daniel Malone, the executive director of DESC, said a client staying at the center let an armed man in through a door that connects to the parking area.
“Were they an accomplice? Did they simply know this person and did not know something would happen as a result of that?” KIRO 7 reporter Linzi Sheldon asked.
“It’s not clear what their intent was in opening the door and letting the person in,” Malone said.
Seattle police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said the suspect tried to rob a group of men, pistol-whipping one of them, but that they fought back.
“One of those individuals took a toaster and then struck the suspect with it on the back of the head,” he said.
The suspect ran out and when a resident chased him, Whitcomb said, the suspect beat him with his gun, as well.
Then, a resident at the center pulled out a gun and chased after the suspect. Police said he opened fire. Another shot is believed to have been fired, as well, but no one was hit. The initial suspect took off, and police are also looking for the resident who fired the second weapon.
“It’s stunning,” Malone said, “that there was an incident involving a gun being fired at one of the programs. We haven’t had situations where people shot a gun at somebody else in our programs over many decades of doing this kind of work.”
Malone said it’s unclear where the client obtained the gun. He said there is the possibility the suspect was carrying two guns and a resident managed to get hold of one of them during their scuffle.
The Navigation Center quickly became one of the city's most desired homeless shelters, KIRO 7 discovered earlier in the year, because it’s close to several encampments, has fewer rules, and has been around long enough to have a good reputation. Once admitted, residents are allowed to stay there around the clock, rather than being required to vacate daily in the morning as at other shelters. About 85 people can live at the shelter at one time.
“It’s not a time of day that we would have been here,” Lori Kessler, who works down the block, said. “But, you know, just thinking about being in the office and potentially hearing something like that, it’s scary to think about.”
“What is DESC looking at in terms of safety steps?” Linzi Sheldon asked Malone.
“One of the things we've actually already had in process was installing a gate at the property itself so somebody can’t just go right up to that door that goes into the building,” he said. He added that they are looking at other possible improvements or changes that can be made.
“I think the main message to neighbors is—there’s no higher priority for us than the security of our clients and staff there in the building,” he said. “We’re shocked by this breach of that sense of safety and security.”
Varisha Kahn, who works down the block with Lori Kessler, said the changes sound like a promising start.
“Whether it's a badge system, whether it's another gate, whether it's a key—it does help at least the tenants as well as the surrounding community feel a little bit safer,” she said.
Malone said several people are no longer allowed to stay at the center, including the resident who fired the second weapon and the man who let the suspect into the building. A third person who wielded a knife at one point is also not allowed to stay at the Navigation Center. Malone said the suspect is not, and has not been, a client of DESC but they are working to figure out if anyone knows who he is.
Police said they have surveillance video but are not releasing it at this point.
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