Police arrested a 32-year-old man for robbery on Wednesday after a tried to steal shoes and clothes from a store in the Northgate Mall and attacked an employee when she tried to stop him.
Around 6:15 PM, the suspect walked into the store and asked to see a pair of shoes. An employee then noticed the man appeared to be examining anti-theft devices on clothing in the store.
When he tried to leave the store with a bag of stolen merchandise, an employee grabbed the items back and engaged in a struggle with the man, who struck the staff member once in her head. The man was only able to get away with a lone shoe, which he tossed back into the store before fleeing east into the mall’s parking lot.
Officers caught up to the man and tried to get him to stop, but he kept walking, reached into his waistband and announced he had a gun.
The man then ran across traffic on 5th Avenue Northeast, and was quickly taken into custody be SPD officers and King County Sheriff’s deputies.
Police didn’t find a gun on the man, but he was carrying a large butcher’s knife in his pants, and had a warrant for failing to register as a sex offender. Officers booked the man into the King County Jail for robbery, harassment and investigation of identity theft.