Olympic Hills neighbors work to improve safety after couple is robbed at gunpoint

Olympic Hills bringing back neighborhood watch after armed robbery

As Seattle Police continue to search for the three men who robbed a husband and wife at gunpoint last Sunday in the Olympic Hills neighborhood, neighbors are doing their part to improve safety.

SEATTLE - As Seattle Police continue to search for the three men who robbed a husband and wife at gunpoint in the early-morning hours last Sunday in the Olympic Hills neighborhood, neighbors are doing their part to improve safety.

"This is my first time installing one of these," said neighbor Clint Coburn. "Luckily it was quick and easy."

Standing on a ladder, he puts the final adjustments on a home surveillance camera. Making sure the position is perfect, he climbs back down and gets ready to install one more.

"It’s heightening awareness and security measures as best we can," he told FOX 13.

The home camera installation comes a week after his neighbors across the street endured a terrifying robbery.

"It really put things in perspective," he said. "It’s just a little scary. You know, you’re never sure what’s going on in the neighborhood."

He, like many of his neighbors, feel the added cameras will monitor and record things people might otherwise miss.

"We just thought we needed some little extra measures," he said. "Especially when the police came asking for footage from that night. It kind of struck me, I needed to do a little more than what we had."

Coburn doesn’t believe he or any of his neighbors captured a good image of the suspects from their doorbell cameras.

"That’s why we’re adding cameras at different angles and vantage points," said another neighbor.

Also going the extra mile to bring the neighborhood closer together was the robbery victim’s next-door neighbors.

On February 1st, the husband and wife walked around the neighborhood, handing out flyers to create an informal "block watch."

A portion of the letter read:

"After reading about the spike in criminal activities (parcel thieves, prowlers, house break-ins, etc.), I’d like to organize an informal "block watch" for our block only (homes facing 25th Ave NE from 143rd to 145th Street."

Anyone with interest was asked to provide their name and contact info. The group plans to create a group email called Olympic Hill Operatives. It will highlight and report on any noteworthy suspicious criminal activities in real-time and alert participants.

Coburn said he and his girlfriend are looking forward to getting involved.

"I think it’s huge," he said. "You always hear communication is a good deterrent. I can imagine why. Communication is key so I think it’s great that our neighbor did that. We can do more by getting involved."

As for the crime committed in the 14000 block of 25th Avenue Northeast in the Olympic Hills neighborhood, police have not made any suspect arrests.

However, the suspects were described as three men between 18 and 25 years of age and between 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-1 in height, according to the Seattle Police Department.

SPD said two of the men were Black and one was white. All were described as tall and thin, wearing black facemasks, black sweatshirts, black pants, gloves and black shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the SPD's Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.