SEATTLE — Police are investigating an unprovoked hate crime attack in downtown Seattle.
The suspect in the attack was in court Thursday and had his bail set at $100,000. KIRO 7 is not identifying the suspect because he has not yet been charged.
Seattle police said the case is being handled by its Bias Crimes Coordinator, who expects to complete their investigation by Friday.
“The facts of this case are concerning given that it was a completely unprovoked attack,” Patricia Goldman, a King County deputy prosecuting attorney, said in court.
According to Seattle police, the suspect saw two men walking downtown near 8th Ave. and Stewart St. on Tuesday night and threw a bottle at them. He then reportedly yelled racist and homophobic slurs at them before throwing his bike at them and fighting them.
“This rapidly escalated to physical violence against both victims as a result of his perception of their appearance and sexual orientation,” Goldman said.
He is now accused of committing two hate crimes.
This was not his first run-in with the law. Prosecutors rattled off an extensive criminal history while arguing for a high bail amount.
“Rape in the third degree, child molestation in the first degree, and two prior convictions of FTRing,” Goldman said. “He has also had an extensive history of failing to appear.”
“FTRing” means failing to register as a sex offender.
The suspect’s lawyer, William Prestia, asked that the judge not consider some of the cases because they happened before he turned 18.
“That is straight up improper,” Prestia said. “We have laws about that, and the state needs to respect them too.”
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said it has filed more than 400 hate crime charges since 2018. Black individuals are reportedly the most common targets and those who are LGBTQ+ are the second-most common.
This case deals with both.