Community voices concerns about rampant violent crimes in South Seattle, CID

Concerns about crime in south Seattle, International District

Community members have voiced their concerns publicly and to officials regard the uptick in crime in the area.

SEATTLE - A dramatic, and at times deadly, spike in violence in South Seattle has the community looking for solutions other than police for their safety.

The area has been the scene of some of the city’s most violent crimes in 2023. The latest data available from Seattle Police Department shows the South Precinct has responded to 542 violent crimes this year in South Seattle.

The crimes include a mass shooting at a South Seattle hookah lounge that killed three people and injured six. Police are also alerting the public about a rash of armed home burglaries and assaults in the area targeting more than a dozen homes.

One of latest investigations for the South Precinct is a suspicious death in the New Holly neighborhood on Sunday. Homicide detectives collected evidence of a shooting.

"This is not the neighborhood we grew up in, that we love," said Tanya Woo, a South Seattle resident who is campaigning for the City Council District 2 position.

District 2 represents South Seattle and the Chinatown International District.

Community members joined Woo at the intersection of 12th and Jackson, the center of "Little Saigon." People who live and work in the neighborhood said they have been struggling with the rise in crime the past four years. One of the area’s biggest challenges during that time was the open-air market of stolen goods and the criminal activity it attracted.

"Our streets are increasingly unsafe and that impacts the customer’s willingness to visit us and employees fear for personal safety at their workplace," said Quynh Pham, executive director of Friends of Little Saigon. "We’re dealing with more than just financial hardships. We’re grappling with a sense of insecurity that affects every aspect of our operations. Business owners and employees have daily criminal activities, drug use, drug dealing, and just the general deterioration of people’s behavioral, mental and physical health."

"It’s about the erosion of a sense of safety that every community should be able to enjoy. And we cannot ignore these harsh truths. These increasingly violent crimes disproportionately impact brown, Black and Asian community members," said Woo.

Sara Nelson, an at-large Seattle City Council member, said the rampant crime plaguing Little Saigon is spreading throughout the south side of the city.

"What’s going on in Little Saigon is happening throughout District 2, which extends into southeast Seattle," said Nelson. "My colleagues and I get hundreds of emails from people who feel scared and abandoned and angry because they don’t feel like anybody is listening to them at City Hall. And I can’t blame them one bit."

Woo said crime and violence in Little Saigon and south Seattle can’t be addressed by policing alone. She and community members called on more resources to support investigators when violent crimes occur in that part of the city. They said the area is also in need of an economic engine to restore more jobs and jobs security.

"And we need to directly build back social infrastructure for youth, like community centers being open later and something that young people have been asking for" said Woo.

"Let’s make a change to get this right. We need your help," said Esther Lucero, of the Seattle Indian Health Board."

FOX 13 contacted Tammy Morales, incumbent and District 2 councilmember, for comment on the violent crimes in the area, and is awaiting response.