Woman arrested for machete attack near Seattle PD's East Precinct
Brandi Kruse: Let Seattle’s silence speak for itself
Each week on “The Divide” Brandi Kruse offers a commentary that looks for common ground on issues that divide us. Topics include gun control, free speech, policing, and politics. This week she talks about the time to stop expecting Seattle leaders to speak up.
SEATTLE - Officers arrested a 32-year-old woman Tuesday night on Capitol Hill after she attacked an apartment building security guard, slashing him with a machete.
According to Seattle Police, the 50-year-old security guard was patrolling near the 1600 block of 12th Avenue, near the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct, about 11:20 p.m. when a 32-year-old woman began yelling insults at him from a vehicle.
According to a witness, the suspect then got out of her vehicle while carrying a Nerf Blaster, approached the guard and asked if he was an officer. The guard was reportedly wearing a vest with the word “officer” printed on the front and back.
When the victim walked away, the suspect continued shouting insults at him, police said. During the incident, the woman returned to her vehicle, retrieved a foot-long machete and began walking toward the guard and a witness.
The guard and a witness tried to enter the lobby of an apartment building on 12th Avenue to get away from the suspect, but the suspect fought to try and pull the door open. She reportedly slashed the guard's forearm during the struggle, leaving two five-inch cuts.
The suspect then returned to her vehicle and left the scene.
At the same time the guard was struggling with the suspect, a group of protesters down the block had dumped garbage and set fire to a flag on the SPD East Precinct fence line.
Members of the protest group initially tended to the guard’s wounds before police took over, placed a tourniquet on the man and called for Seattle Fire medics. The victim was later transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
A short time later, officers found the suspect at a gas station on Broadway, where she had changed her clothing. Officers booked her into the King County Jail for assault.