SEATTLE — A shooting Thursday evening left a bullet hole in a South Seattle home, just 1 foot away from where the homeowner was sitting inside. The 51-year-old man, who did not want to be identified, said he was watching television when he heard the sound of gunshots.
“I just heard bang, bang, bang, bang, and I just heard the window crack -- gagh! Like that,” he said.
A bullet remains lodged in the double-paned glass window of his living room, with shards of glass on the sofa where he sat. He said he hit the floor, not knowing if more bullets were coming. Usually, he takes care of his 3-year-old grandson during the day.
The shooting happened at around 7:45 p.m. at the corner of Beacon Avenue South and South Leo Street, less than two hours after his daughter had already picked up the toddler.
“If his mom did not pick up him by that time, he might be outside, playing,” he said.
Seattle Police Detective Jeff Kappel said police arrived to find a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria crashed outside the house. The homeowner’s truck was damaged, as well as the taillight of another one of his cars. Witnesses also told detectives they saw another car, possibly a white pickup truck or light blue car, chasing and shooting at the Crown Victoria.
“When we get there, both front doors are open, airbags are deployed.,” Kappel said, describing the Crown Victoria.
One of the people running from the car is described as a black man in his 20s, with a gun, wearing a black jacket and black pants, running southbound on Beacon Avenue. The other is a black man in his mid-20s to 30s, thin, bald, wearing a white shirt, running eastbound through people’s backyards.
“If you were just a victim, you would have stuck around for police to get there. If you crashed and then ran, then never reported,” Kappel said, they consider them also suspects.
Police searched with canines and air units, but they did not find the men. They are now looking for at least those two people, in addition to possible others in the two cars.
“This is probably more than it appears,” Kappel said.
The crash also knocked over the homeowner’s mailbox, which he shares with neighbor Jeffrey Lee. Lee said this was not the first time he has had to replace the mailbox. In another instance, he said a drunken driver knocked it over. Lee’s wife was home when the gunfire erupted. He said she thought they were fireworks. Now, she feels unsafe.
The homeowner who now has a broken living room window said he’ll have to check with his insurance on the cost of that damage, as well as the damage to his cars.He said this was the first time there had ever been a shooting in his 20 years living there.
KIRO
