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Community calls for change after double homicide
Community activists gathered at Virgil Flaim Park, the site of a double homicide earlier this week, to call for more action from city officials. The group, which included members of the organization We Heart Seattle, claimed the city has abandoned the area and that the shooting could have been prevented.
SEATTLE - Community activists are calling for change and accountability after Monday’s double homicide.
They gathered at Virgil Flaim Park on Friday, the same park where someone shot two men earlier this week. Those men died. Police are still searching for the suspected shooter.
On Friday, the group of about 20 people, made up of Lake City residents, as well as business owners and community activists said, ‘enough is enough.’ They said they gathered because they are saddened by Monday’s shooting, which happened near a growing homeless encampment.
Local perspective:
The nonprofit ‘We Heart Seattle’ was there and launched ‘We Heart Lake City.’ Their goal is to have two park ambassadors in the area full-time. Those ambassadors will pick up trash at the park, build trust, and then triage people for treatment, according to the organization.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell spoke with FOX 13 Seattle after the deadly shooting. He said the city had cleared the encampment a few weeks before the shooting happened, and they are responding the best they can given the resources they have.
Those who spoke at Friday’s gathering said what happened on Monday all boils down to accountability.
What they're saying:
"They’re not taking names, they’re not trespassing people and once they trespass them and they come back again now they can arrest them, maybe it’s just a catch and release but that messes them up, it lets them know that it’s not right to do what they’re doing," said Richard Ridout, owner of Little Tiger Ice Cream.
"It’s time to put our foot down and restore our parks for equitable access for all," said We Heart Seattle founder Andrea Suarez.
"We can’t go to the park where this encampment moved to, because we don’t know if the person that killed those two people are in that park, we don’t know so now we’re coming together as a community to say, ‘What can we do?’" said community activist Tim Gaydos.
We Heart Seattle said it takes about $100,000 a year to run an ambassador human being program in a community. They would like to put two ambassadors in Lake City and are now asking for the public’s help.
If anyone has any information about Monday’s double homicide, Seattle police want to hear from you.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting from FOX 13 Seattle reporter Shirah Matsuzawa.