On May 26th, just after midnight, a West Precinct officer was on routine patrol when he came across a man yelling on the corner of Alaskan Way South and South Main Street. The officer stopped to investigate and was told by the man that he had just been stabbed. The victim was bleeding from at least two wounds in his torso. The victim was able to point out the suspect who was on the west side of Alaskan Way South at the Washington Street Boat Landing. The officer directed responding officers to detain the suspect while he called Seattle Fire to treat the victim.
While SFD was enroute, the victim was able to explain to the officer that he had been sleeping inside the boat landing with several other people. The victim stated that the suspect got mad at him for staring too hard at his “girl.” The victim stated that at that point the suspect began stabbing him and then the suspect ran off. The victim ran across the street where he flagged down the passing officer.
While explaining what happened to the officer, the victim indicated that he was having trouble breathing. The victim then went into respiratory distress. Officers lowered the victim to the ground and the victim stopped breathing. Seattle Fire arrived as the victim went into cardiac arrest. Medics were able to revive the victim at the scene and then transported him to Harborview Medical Center.
Officers interviewed the suspect and his girlfriend. Both stated that the girlfriend got up during the night to relieve herself and that the victim was watching her. When the suspect told the victim to avert his eyes and give her a little privacy, the victim refused to do so, according to the suspect. At that point the suspect and victim began to argue. The suspect and girlfriend claimed that the victim picked up a rock and threw it at him, but that it missed hitting him. The suspect admitted to physically fighting with the victim and did state that he pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim. The suspect sustained several lacerations to his head and face which required him to be transported to HMC for treatment. The girlfriend tried to conceal the knife used by the suspect before the police arrived. Officers recovered the knife and submitted it into evidence. The 47 year old victim is currently at Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The 52 year old suspect was arrested and then transported to HMC for treatment of his injuries. He was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Assault. The 44 year old girlfriend was interviewed and released. Detectives will now handle the follow up investigation.