On December 9th at approximately 6:30 PM, officers responded to the 2800 Blk. of 42 Ave West on a 911-call from a resident. The two suspects were described as wearing dark clothing and hooded ski masks. Upon arriving on scene, the officers learned that the homeowner was driving home with her children. When she pulled into her driveway off of the alley, she exited the vehicle and began attending to her children who were sitting in the back seat of the vehicle. The homeowner observed an individual in black clothing crouching down near the rear of the vehicle. The suspect approached her and grabbed her around the neck. The homeowner screamed out the name of next-door neighbor whom she had observed standing on his deck when she drove into her driveway. The suspect immediately released his hold on the victim and ran off southbound in the alley. The victim then noticed a second suspect dressed similarly to the first suspect who was standing in the shadows nearby. That suspect also ran off southbound with the first. Both suspects fled the area on foot. SPD officers conducted an extensive area search, including observation of the Magnolia Bridge and Ballard Bridge access points.
The homeowner did an outstanding job protecting herself and her children. She re-entered her car and drove to the main street and waited for SPD to arrive. Violent Crimes has assigned a detective to follow-up on this. We show no other similar crimes in this area and we will provide updates as available.
Personal Safety Tip, be aware of your surroundings, keep vehicle doors and house doors locked, watch out for you neighbors and ask them to do the same for you, report unusual activities or suspicious persons to 911.