Three men are hospitalised, two in critical condition, after a violent robbery at a tent encampment inside Rotary Viewpoint Park in West Seattle on Sunday afternoon that investigators say involved improvised weapons and a calculated attack.
Seattle police officers responded at 1 p.m. to a report of an armed robbery near 35th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Alaska Street, arriving to find three men aged 28, 39, and 42 with significant head injuries. All three were given medical aid at the scene before being transported to Harborview Medical Center. As of Sunday evening, one victim was in stable condition while the other two remained in critical condition.
According to investigators, several suspects sprayed a fire extinguisher inside the victims’ tent, forcing the men outside to escape the fumes. As they emerged, the suspects attacked them with improvised weapons including a crowbar, the fire extinguisher, and a wrench, striking the victims in the head. Two of the three men lost consciousness during the assault. The third, who sustained a severe cut to his head, was able to flee. While two victims lay unconscious on the ground, the suspects went through their pockets and took everything they had before fleeing the scene.
A K-9 unit tracked the suspects to a tent in a nearby encampment. Officers obtained a search warrant and the Seattle Police Department’s SWAT team executed it, but the suspects were not found. Robbery detectives collected evidence at the scene before travelling to Harborview to interview the victims.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Seattle Police Department’s violent crimes tip line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are accepted.
