Police investigate South Seattle home invasions, homeowner exchanges gunfire with suspects
SEATTLE - Police are investigating a series of home invasions that happened in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood earlier this week. In one incident, a homeowner exchanged gunfire with the suspects.
According to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), no injuries were reported in either of the robberies.
On Dec. 18, officers responded to a report of a home invasion robbery near the corner of Beacon Ave. S and S Graham St.
Officers spoke to a victim, who said he was approached by several men with guns while he was walking home from the casino. He told police the suspects forced him to open the front door of his home while they ransacked the place, looking for valuables.
The suspects stole cash and fled the scene.
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The SPD says the second incident happened two days later at a home near the corner of Beacon Ave. S and S Ferdinand St.
Shortly after 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, officers responded to the location for a report of an attempted home invasion robbery. Police spoke to the homeowner, who said three men tried to break down his door but were unsuccessful and fled the scene.
The SPD says the suspects tried a second time at around 12:25 a.m. the next morning.
Authorities say four men returned to the house to try breaking the door down with a sledgehammer.
The homeowner told police he was sleeping and woke up to loud banging at the door. He armed himself with a rifle, and when the suspects tried getting inside, he shot at them.
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Authorities say the suspects fired back at the homeowner before speeding off in a vehicle. It remains unknown whether the homeowner shot any of the suspects during the incident.
Detectives processing the scene say they located bullet damage in the living room and bedroom windows.
The SPD says this week’s incidents follow a similar pattern to a series of robberies that happened earlier this year, where the victims of the incidents were of Asian descent, and the suspects were Black men.
It's too early in the investigation to say if these home invasion are related to the ones we saw earlier this year, but detectives are continuing their investigation.
Anyone with information about these cases is asked to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.
This is a developing story.