Local News

UPDATE 8:45 A.M. Tuesday |  Ballard High School Principal Keven Wynkoop said Monday’s decision to “Shelter in Place” at the school came after a  neighbor reported seeing “some kind of gun” being stuffed into the waistband of someone behind the school during the lunch break.

The witness gave a description of the person and the vehicle he had come from. Seattle police officers and school security officers recovered a pellet gun from one student, and the matter was turned over to school officials for discipline.

Earlier post:

Students and faculty members at Ballard High School were “sheltered in place” at midday Monday after a report that a person was seen with a gun along Northwest 67th Street near the school.

A call came at 12:54 p.m. after a parent reported seeing a young man with a gun.  It was not immediately known if the person was a student, according to Seattle police spokeswoman Renee Witt.

Shortly after 1 p.m., Witt said officers were at the scene and reported that no one has been injured and no shots were reported fired.  The incident remains under investigation.

National Weather Service / Forecast

This could have been worse … Gun goes off in Silverdale store after falling out of customer’s coat. Does this mean it didn’t have the safety on? Did it even have one? The guy had a permit to have the pistol. Yeah, OK. Police are forwarding the information they’ve gathered to the prosecutor in Kitsap County.

Did the Seahawks win yesterday? Just kidding. Good for the Hawks, so sad for Robert Griffin III. It was painful to watch as his knee buckled when he attempted to recover from that bad snap. (Just in case you haven’t gotten enough photos of the game, we’ve posted another one with this morning’s memo.)

Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson glides into the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter. (Photo by John Lok / The Seattle Times)

Sounder North Line returns: What? No mudslides? The trains are back in business. They’ve been shutting down the service between Seattle and Everett for weeks on end. Let’s hope the hills have stabilized and the trains keep running. We sort of pay for them, right?

That floating oil rig is on the move again. It’s being t0wed to what we hope is a quieter spot in a Kodiak Island bay in Alaska after being grounded during a storm a week ago. But there is bit of a hitch. It’s being moved during another storm with 18 mile-per-hour winds and 15-foot foot swells. … How much attention have you been paying to developments in this oil rig towing story? Vote in our poll.

Stories trending this morning on seattletimes.com:

1. Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch once again the winning formula in Seattle’s comeback victory
2. Seahawks could tell Robert Griffin III wasn’t right and took full advantage | Steve Kelley
3. Panhandler found dead with $83K of heroin, needle in his arm
4. Seahawks are playing like they have something to prove | Steve Kelley
5. How fearless, young Seahawks roared back despite early punch | Jerry Brewer

Nick Provenza: 206-464-2142 or nprovenza@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @NickProvenza1

Seattle police arrested a young couple who each allegedly punched a woman during a bizarre altercation outside a Belltown nightclub early Saturday morning.

The 21-year-old man and his girlfriend, each convicted felons, were booked into King County Jail on investigation of assault and illegally possessing a handgun, according to an item posted on the Seattle Police Department Blotter.

The incident started a little before 2:30 a.m. when the man approached another woman outside the club in the 100 block of Bell Street,  according to police. That angered his girlfriend, leading her to punch the other woman.

“While they were fighting, the male apparently decided he was no longer romantically interested in the victim, and he too punched the victim in the face,” police said.

During the fight, a gun apparently fell out of the man’s sweatpants, and his girlfriend allegedly picked it up and pointed it at the victim, police said.

It’s illegal for a convicted felon to possess a firearm.

Police recovered the gun and arrested the couple.

Weather: Sunny for the next several days with a high of 70 or thereabouts today. That’s great for mid-to-late September. That’s what we’ll see for most of the week, and no rain in sight. Cross your fingers. September can often be rather wet. The National Weather Service forecast.

Traffic: The map and cams.

The Puyallup Fair (oops, we mean the Washington State Fair) drew 1.1 million visitors this year. That’s 58,000 more than did the Puyallup last year.

Arena vote by Seattle City Council: Councilmembers are scheduled to cast their votes today on the deal to build a big arena in the city’s Sodo neighborhood.

Police shoot and kill a man in Southeast Seattle: Seattle police officers shot and killed a man when they responded to reports of a prowler in the area. Police say the man pointed a gun at them. Exactly what happened is a bit sketchy. We’ll bring you more when we have it.

How drunk can you be when you shoot yourself in the foot and you don’t know who shot you? A man in Selah, Yakima County, told authorities someone shot him in the foot, but he was damned if he knew who. His girlfriend told police she was driving the guy home and he accidentally shot himself when he pulled the gun from his sock to show her and it went off …

Area gas prices drop: OK it’s only 3 cents lower than a week ago and the average is still over $4 a gallon at $4.02, according to the survey by AAA Washington. Here are the numbers:   Bellingham $4.13, Bremerton $4.01, Seattle-Bellevue-Everett $4.04, Tacoma $4.01, Olympia $4.02, Vancouver $3.99, Yakima $4, Tri-Cities $3.97, and Spokane $3.90.

Most-read stories this morning on seattletimes.com:

Weather: Hey, it reached 82 degrees in some areas yesterday. Can this be September? It’s expected to be a bit cooler today and for the next several days, but the skies are forecast to be clear. OK, it might be a bit cloudy tomorrow, but we’re trying to ignore that. Enjoy the weekend. The National Weather Service forecast.

Traffic: The map and cams.

Stop smoking or I might shoot you? A man in Bellingham pointed a gun at a pregnant woman Tuesday reportedly because she was smoking. He was driving along in his pickup when he saw her puffing and reportedly asked, ”Who the heck smokes when they’re pregnant?” The woman replied, “I do.” Clearly not liking her response, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, according to Bellingham police.  They busted him a short time later. The Bellingham Herald has the story.

Dad jumps in river to save toddler son: A man and his 23-month-old son were walking on a bridge in Spokane yesterday when the toddler fell into the Spokane River. The father jumped in to save his son and did! The youngster was taken to the hospital and it appears he’ll be OK. According to the story in The Spokesman Review, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer summed it up:  “This is really a good outcome compared to what we’re used to,” Schaeffer said.

Many decades in the biz: At a time when job security is touch and go and car dealerships change hands or close shop, Richard Hahn of the Hahn Motor Co. in Yakima is of a generation where changing jobs was the exception, not the rule. Hahn has been with the company for 60 years, having started in 1952. His father opened the dealership in 1924.  Hahn is retiring. The Yakima Herald-Republic has the story.

‘Take it outside’: That’s reportedly what a middle-school administrator told some boys when he found them fighting and now he’s on paid leave while the Tacoma School District looks into what happened. A parent said the administrator ought to have  intervened and stopped the fight.

Most-read stories this morning on seattletimes.com:

1. U.S. identifies anti-Muslim filmmaker
2. Microsoft finds malware on new computers in China
3. Prosecutor quits; investigated for ties to former UW hoops star
4. Egypt president urges Muslims to protect embassies
5. Not so fast, say foes of the Sodo arena deal

Watch the live stream of the event on The Seattle Channel’s website.

In response to the recent spate of shootings in Seattle, Town Hall Seattle has invited several public figures for an evening of conversation about urban violence and public safety 7:30-9 p.m. on Monday.

Participants will include Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn; Police Chief John Diaz; City Councilmember Bruce Harrell; Mariko Lockhart, director of Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative; and Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat among others.

The discussion will cover public safety, mental illness, gangs and how a city heals after violence and tragedy occur.

The event is free but attendees must have a ticket. For tickets, go to: seati.ms/KCO506.

Town Hall Seattle is at 1119 Eighth Avenue (at Seneca). The event will be in the Great Hall.

The event will also be streamed live on Seattle Channel (cable 21) or at seattlechannel.org. Seattle Channel will be taking viewer questions via social media, Facebook (www.facebook.com/SeattleChannel) and Twitter (#safeseattle).

Here are the questions and comments sent in via Twitter using the #safeseattle hash tag:

 The Associate Press

A 22-year-old man was arrested near Alki Beach last night after he reportedly struck a motorcycle with his car and then threatened the motorcyclist with a gun.

According to police, an officer working a special patrol emphasis at the beach was flagged down by a motorcyclist at Alki Avenue Southwest and Marine Avenue Southwest just before 7 p.m. The motorcyclist said that moments earlier a man driving a white Hyundai had “intentionally struck his motorcycle,” according to police spokesman Mark Jamieson.

After striking the motorcycle, the Hyundai driver got out of his car, went to the trunk and pulled out a backpack. When the motorcyclist asked the man why he struck his motorcycle, the suspect pulled a handgun out of the backpack, police said. The motorcyclist said that he asked the suspect, “Do you really want to go there with your gun?” to which the suspect replied, “Yes, I do.”

The motorcyclist, who was not hurt, took off and contacted police. While police were talking to him, the Hyundai drove by; the motorcyclist pointed out the suspect’s car to the officer.

The 22-year-old driver was stopped by police. He told officers he owns a gun, but refused to answer any questions, according to Jamieson.

The man’s car was impounded and he was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of harassment and investigation of assault. A female passenger in the Hyundai was questioned and released.

The Associated Press

Weather: Nice and sunny yesterday. Wasn’t there a 70 percent chance of rain? Can we ever get it right? There’s a 50 percent chance today and it was raining very early this morning. We could see the sun later today and Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday are looking great. Let’s see if that holds true. Would be nice to have some spring this spring. The National Weather Service forecast.

Traffic: The map and cams.

Blow-up doll scam backfires, but with a twist: We all know some knuckleheads think they can pull a fast one on the cops by putting a life-size doll in the passenger seat to use the carpool lanes, but when a 21-year-old driver tried it, he got more than he bargained for. He cut off a state trooper on I-405 near Renton and got pulled over. When the trooper noticed the doll, the driver got a $248 ticket for the faulty lane change and another for using his plastic passenger. What was he thinking?

Seattle School administrators wanted to save some money by not making up all the school days lost when it snowed like crazy back in January. The school board said nope. Kids need all the education they can get.

Two intruders are dead in less than a week at the hands of people protecting themselves and their property.  That’s very unusual. A man was shot dead by a man in his North Bend home last Friday and a retired Puyallup cop shot and killed a burglar who broke into his home last night.

You can’t hunt wolves in Washington: A rancher in Eastern Washington pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to kill a gray wolf, which are protected, and ship its pelt to a friend in Canada. This story also involves hunting moose in Canada and bringing it stateside and hunting bears with a dog. The rancher’s from Twisp.

The letter to Amina

Here’s the bit about shipping the pelt, from The Associated Press story:

The case stemmed from a 2008 report of a bloody package that had been left with a private shipping company in Omak. A suspicious employee called police, who opened the package and discovered a fresh wolf hide.

The rancher said he was only trying to protect his livestock.

Boy’s letter to Amina: If you haven’t read the letter handwritten in pencil on lined school paper by the 9-year-old boy who brought the gun to school that went off and shot 9-year-old Amina Kocer-Bowman, have a look. Click on the image of the letter on the right to read it.

Most-read stories this morning on seattletimes.com:

1. Mariners might rue the day they interfered with proposed Sodo arena | Jerry Brewer
2. Skyline quarterback Max Browne commits to USC
3. Seahawks unveil dramatic new uniforms |Seahawks Blog
4. GOP staffer seeks $1.75M settlement from state
5. Boy’s letter: ‘I’m sorry I hurt you because I brought a gun to school’