Officers arrested a man late Tuesday afternoon after he threatened a Downtown restaurant employee with a handgun.
At 4:26 p.m., police responded to the 1400 block of 4th Avenue for reports of a man with a gun. Responding officers spoke with the victim, a restaurant employee, who described the following:
The suspect came into the restaurant where the victim works from the neighboring restaurant, via a shared hallway in the building they both occupy. When the man spit on one of the dining tables, the victim told him he had to leave and ushered him out the front door onto 4th Avenue. The victim then realized the suspect was an employee next door, and told him he didn’t want any problems. The suspect shoved the victim several times and started rummaging in his backpack for something. This alarmed the victim, who went back into his restaurant, locked the door, and called 911. The suspect pulled a handgun from his backpack, pointed it at the victim through the restaurant’s windows, and then walked away.
Officers found the man walking several blocks away. He initially ignored their commands to stop, but was eventually taken into custody. Police recovered a handgun and brass knuckles from his backpack.
Officers booked the 23-year-old man into King County Jail for felony harassment and unlawful possession of a firearm – he is prohibited from having guns because he is the respondent in a no-contact order. Officers also requested charges for the misdemeanor crimes of fourth-degree assault, obstruction and possession of an unlawful weapon for the brass knuckles.