Debris burns on one of the floors of the tall building at Renton’s Garden Plaza on Park Avenue
I received a link to an Instagram Post which shows the inside of the dilapidated Park Avenue (Garden Plaza) buildings. The owner of the Instagram account states in one of the comments that the photos were sent to him, so the time of the photos is unknown.
I also stumbled upon a youtube video from August 17, with thousands of views, showing the hazardous state of the inside of the buildings. It was obvious that no steps had been taken by the building owner to remediate interior hazards as of the time these images were captured.
The photos and video underscore the danger to anyone moving about within these buildings, and the fire danger these buildings represent to the community. Recently, even Renton’s firefighters and police officers have been instructed not to go into these buildings unless there is a critical life-saving emergency need. No one from the public should enter them. I’ve only included a few sample screenshots from the Instagram post in this blog entry.
The link to the photos was sent to me after this six-minute television news story was broadcast about these dangerous buildings and the negative impact the buildings are having on the community.
This image from the youtube video shows a deadly drop down an open elevator shaft. No one should be going anywhere near this hazard without fall protection. Given that the the building remains unacceptably physically open to workers, the unhoused, and curious explorers, the owners should immediately be installing safety railings and caution warnings on these elevator shafts to prevent falls.An open elevator shaft is visible in this image
This view inside the parking garage appears to include a pile of metal shavings (likely associated with metal theft activities.)Most of these windows are now gone on the east side of the three-story 10-13 building, and the structure is being damaged by the elements
pacnorthwest_media, which owns the Instagram account, explains that the pictures were sent to himTwo days ago when a concerned group of residents walked around the outside of the building we found at least four open fence openings, such as this person-size gap in the chain link. While we didn’t go onto the property, it looked like there were also unsecured openings into the inside of the buildings.This fence should not be relied upon to keep children out of this building
According to witnesses, a fireworks mortar lit on a downtown sidewalk on Sunday August 24th set these trees and occupied home on fire. The house could have burned to the ground if not for the immediate response of attentive neighbors and Renton Fire Authority.Emergency responders at the scene of August 24th fireworks blazeCarter Farmer, who lives within a few hundred feet of the fire, had previously spoken to Renton’s Mayor and City Council on July 7th, seven weeks before this fire. She had warned that ongoing fireworks were continuing to be a problem in her neighborhood, and she had asked for better enforcement of fireworks laws.
Fireworks are illegal in Renton. In 2006 Renton voters voted 62.57 % – 37.43% to keep them illegal, confirming a 2004 vote by Renton City Council that first made fireworks illegal. But enforcement of the ban has recently seemed spotty to non-existent, and many residents are now understandably complaining. Among them is Carter Farmer, a North Renton neighborhood resident who took the Mayor and Council to task at a council meeting on July 7th, demanding action, after having sent them numerous emails and suggestions on the subject in previous years. Ms. Farmer’s testimony can be watched here on the City’s Youtube Channel, at 41 minutes and 30 seconds in. About seven weeks after she gave her testimony, a home near hers was set on fire by fireworks.
Renton’s voters and Renton Council made fireworks illegal after there were simply too many documented incidents of structural fires and wildfires, emergency room visits, and distress by residents and animals caused by fireworks on our streets. In the year before the Council ban, both a new home and a City Parks Building burned to the ground after being set on fire by fireworks. As urban wildfires across the west become more deadly every year, the ban on fireworks only makes more sense.
The year that Council implemented the fireworks ban in 2004, we knew many residents would miss the excitement, brilliance, and percussion of Fourth of July fireworks, so we initiated a new tradition of a professional fireworks show at Coulon Park. While we knew that some residents may be tempted to light their own, we felt that holding the professional fireworks show and a city 4th of July celebration at our biggest beach park allowed us to direct fireworks enthusiasts to the show instead– providing a necessary alternative to lighting fireworks throughout the whole city. But a couple years ago the professional fireworks show was stopped, and this year Coulon Park was not even open for fourth of July BBQs after 7:00 PM.
My recommendation would be to restore the City 4th of July Celebration, and simultaneously warn residents that Renton intends to aggressively enforce the fireworks ban in future year, with more fireworks confiscations and fines for violators. Then, as we’ve done in the past, Council should insist on getting reports from Police and Fire Chiefs after each 4th of July with metrics about how many citations were issued and pounds of fireworks confiscated. And Council should hold public meetings to gather ideas from residents like Ms. Farmer regarding how to better enforce the ban.
Some of the fireworks being lit in Renton violate just city laws, but many are also in violation of state laws. Fireworks that send projectiles into the sky or make loud percussion sounds (booms) are not legal anywhere in the State of Washington outside of Reservation land (Reservation lands are subject to Federal Laws and Tribal laws, which allow some aerial and percussion fireworks when manufactured and sold to certain standards). Penalties for lighting fireworks that are illegal in the state could be made more severe than penalties for lighting fountains, ground-flowers, or smokers. In any case, all of these are illegal in Renton outside of licensed shows, based on a democratic decision by nearly two out of three of Renton’s voters. And while it may remain challenging to stop every violation on the evening of the 4th of July, there should be no tolerance for continued fireworks use through the summer– it’s just too dangerous to our residents’ lives and property.
I would enjoy hearing from readers on this topic. Please feel free to comment with your ideas, perspectives, and suggestions. You may leave comments anonymously if you choose.
I’ve written several posts about the derelict office buildings on Park Avenue, including how they got to this condition, what is currently being done about them, and what the future may hold for them.
To help residents and businesses better understand this issue, “For a Better Renton” has asked me to host one or more conversation walking tours around the outside of these buildings (staying in the public space outside the fence, so no personal protective equipment is required). Since I used to work in these buildings, and I also served on City Council from 1994-2021, I bring some unique experience to this discussion.
I want to keep the walk to a manageable group size to support a conversation, so we’re asking people to RSVP to 4aBetterRenton@gmail.com and let us know if you would like to participate. We’ll add additional times if we get more interest than we can reasonably accommodate in this first session.
The walk will begin at Park Avenue and North 6th Street, at 2:00 this coming Sunday, September 7, and last for about one hour. There’s not any parking on these block of Park Ave or North 6th, and nearby lots are private or blocked off, so if you are driving I recommend you look for parking a couple blocks west, on Pelly, Wells or Williams.
The following Saturday there will be a second walk around the neighborhood impacted by the Renton High School eminent-domain expansion, another subject I’ve written extensively about. That walk will be hosted by Sarah Becker.
Renton School District is demolishing homes and businesses obtained by threat of eminent domain
Below is the official announcement for both walks by “For a Better Renton,” which includes additional details:
For A Better Renton (www.4aBetterRenton.com) is hosting its first two “Field Trips” on September 7th and 13th. The purpose of these field trips is to give Renton residents a clear first-hand understanding of some of the issues facing our city, our neighbors, and the direct impact on our taxes, health, future, ability to draw new businesses and residents to our city, growth, and pride in where we live and work.
PARK AVENUE DERELICT OFFICE BUILDING We’ve asked Randy Corman, who served on Renton City Council for 28 years, 1994-2021 (with six years as Renton Council President) to lead the field trip and discussion at the derelict Park Avenue Building. Randy was also with Boeing, as a mechanical engineer and manager, for 33 years, and worked in the building we will ‘touring’. Date: September 7th Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Meeting location: Park Ave & 6th (directly across the street from Mighty Mugs Coffee Stand)
We will commence walking the entire block, around the external of the building. We will start at the old main entrance and then work our way along Park first, then to 5th and then around the backside of the building. We will be joined by a business owner who has been directly impacted by the activities at this derelict building since it’s abandonment by the owner and property manager, ION Renton and AAA Management. We will share information on what the Mayor and City Council has/has not done regarding addressing this building, the current state, the potential future state, and Department of Ecology reports.
Please RSVP at 4aBetterRenton@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you there.
RENTON HIGH SCHOOL EXPANSION/EMINENT DOMAIN Date: September 13th Time: 10:30 – 11:30 (with the potential to extend to 12 noon) Meeting location: Ikea Performing Arts Center parking lot – right next to Renton High School.
We will commence the field trip by walking clockwise down 2nd , take a right at Tobin, and continue on Logan. We will likely turn left on Logan and walk to the corner of Logan and Airport, then backtrack down Logan to 2nd.
We have asked Sarah to lead this field trip. She has spent a significant amount of time speaking at both City Council meetings and Renton School Board meetings. She was an active leader on helping secure over 500 signatures on a petition, along with 20+ businesses, and 3 associations – and the petition was presented to the school board and City Council and Mayor. She continues to stay abreast of all actions by the school board and city (the city owns Tobin Street).
We will also be joined by John Houston who has vivid memories of the trauma caused by the Renton School Board who used eminent domain to get his families property under the pretense of building a school – which they never did – and instead sold his families property to a developer. John, along with the support of Senator Hasegawa, got SB 5142 unanimously passed this year and signed into law by Governor Ferguson – though it does not help John and his family, it will help others whose property is taken under eminent domain. (Unfortunately it does not impact the 20+ homes (owners and renters) and 8+ businesses who are being displaced by the Renton School Board – again!) Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
We will be joined by at least one, if not several, homeowners who are being displaced under this most recent ’eminent domain’ tactic by the Renton School Board.
Please rsvp at 4aBetterRenton@gmail.com
And a few other gentle reminders: RSVP’ing is important as we will have handouts/information for you to take home. And John will have a few of his recently published books on hand for sale. Please dress accordingly as we will be hosting these field trips regardless of weather. And wear comfortable shoes!
KOMO news photo of the property that was the subject of many complaints, before dogs from the property maimed a jogger
King County has agreed to pay a severely-injured woman $21,000,000 in a negligence settlement for failing to act on complaints about squatters with dangerous dogs. There is an important lesson here for all municipalities to act on complaints, and not sweep resident concerns under the rug.
Renton auto theft rates have become much worse over time, spiking during the (now-rescinded) police pursuit restrictionsUS auto theft rates have trended down since 1990
A commenter on my previous blog entry requested long-term crime statistics for Renton, and I’m providing the information here. The data was originally gathered by Renton Police Department, and then submitted to and maintained by the FBI. The FBI Crime Data Explorer, where I acquired this data, can be found here. The reporting systems aren’t perfect, but to my knowledge this is the best data we’re going to find for this time period. (Renton provides five-year crime statistics on the City’s website, as I’ve previously discussed here, but does not supply statistics going back further.)
I’ve chosen to show homicide rates and auto thefts as representative samples on this post because these crimes have a high likelihood of having been consistently reported through the years, and they can help determine meaningful trends.
Unfortunately many serious crimes go unreported. For example, it’s estimated that as many as 75 % or more of rapes go unreported, so an increase in reported rapes from one year to the next might represent an increase in reporting versus an increase in the crime. Many assaults and domestic violence crimes also go unreported. But homicides have usually been reported through the years.
Similarly, shoplifting, petty theft and even burglaries have increasingly gone unreported in our state, but auto theft is usually reported due to insurance and licensing implications. Auto theft is is also correlated to increases in other crimes, as autos are frequently stolen to facilitate both property crimes and violent crimes.
Lasty, I’ve included statistics on highway fatalities, since about half of fatal accidents are related to criminal driving offenses like DUI and reckless driving, and car crashes have a devastating impact on many people’s lives. For every fatality, there are about three serious maimings that impact victims’ long-term quality of life. Much routine patrol work in our city and state is dedicated to reducing these crashes by pulling-over errant and criminally-reckless drivers.
In summary, while local crime trends have somewhat improved in the last year, Renton and Washington crime numbers are near all-time highs, and have not kept pace with the reductions in crime across the US overall.
The following three charts are homicide statistics for Renton, State of Washington, and US from 1986-2024:
Renton homicides from 1986-2024Washington state homicides from 1986-2024US homicides 1986-2024
The following three charts are automobile theft statistics for Renton, State of Washington, and US from 1986-2024:
Renton auto thefts from 1986-2024State of Washington auto thefts from 1986-2024
US auto thefts from 1986-2024
The following two charts are auto fatalities trends in Washington State and US:
Washington State Traffic Fatalities; increased 50% from 2019 to peak in 2023. Source LinkUS Traffic Fatalities; increased 18 % from 2019 to peak in 2021; Source link
This photo (taken two days ago) shows the continuing deterioration of the deathtrap Park Avenue office buildings through a gap in the unmaintained security fence. Councilmember Rivera, chair of Renton’s Public Safety Committee, has repeatedly promised the public that the City has reached agreement with property owners to secure this site. The lack of follow-through puts the public and first responders in danger.
In a move that looks a bit like Superman endorsing Lex Luthor for City Council, the Renton Police Guild leadership shocked many local election watchers by endorsing Councilmember Carmen Rivera’s reelection bid against challenger Mary Clymer.
Recent publications have shown that Councilmember Rivera also has serious anger-management issues that she won’t acknowledge or own up to. She has left a trail of grieving victims of her bullying, many of them former allies that once trusted her. She’s been arrested for domestic violence in the past, and caused at least one current council member to request legal protection from her.
In contrast to Councilmember Rivera’s record, challenger Mary Clymer has a long history of supporting Renton city employees and the community. Ms. Clymer has a commitment to safety that she learned from her grandfather Earl Clymer, a two-term mayor of Renton who helped reverse rising crime rates in the early 1990’s. And rather than let derelict buildings become blight, Ms. Clymer has been beautifying our older buildings through her dedication to public arts, often helping organize community murals and other beatifications– even wielding the paintbrushes herself.
I respectfully encourage the Guild to reevaluate this endorsement. I would have expected this endorsement to go to the deserving Mary Clymer, who will make an extraordinary Renton City Council Member.
Renton’s well-equipped police station can trace its roots to a study that Mayor Earl Clymer commissioned in 1994. This study recommended a larger police station, which ultimately was the impetus to move Renton City Hall (including the police station) to its current larger location.
“This account is subject to or in foreclosure.” This is the taxpayer information for the dilapidated Park Ave buildings, formally known as Garden Plaza
The deathtrap buildings on Park Avenue may potentially be falling into foreclosure according to the King County Taxpayer website. A foreclosure, whether for tax or lending reasons, would further complicate resolution of the dire safety issues that have gone on much too long with these buildings.
The website also shows that the owners, ION Renton, have been hit-and-miss with tax payments in recent years, although they appear to be caught up now.
The data can be found at the King County website here. When you access the site, the parcel number is 7564600055.
The King County assessor has updated their photo of the building. This can be found on the King County Parcel Viewer by navigating to Park and 6th in Renton.
Renton Fire Authority must once again respond to the abandoned buildings on Garden and Park Avenue. Photo taken at about 8:30 PM today.
This evening there has been another fire call to the abandoned Park Avenue Buildings. Christopher Krystofiak, a firefighter with the Renton Fire Authority who helps with online media communication gave me the following details at 9:00 PM:
“Randy, it was black smoke from the roof. We have determined that all fire responses to this building will be defensive only due to the open elevator shafts and damage/hazards inside the building. Crews eventually located a small fire, quickly extinguished it and are releasing most of the apparatus as we speak.”
These buildings require an urgent fire response every time they catch on fire, as they lack the code required fire suppression systems. The systems were mined out of the buildings by metal thieves after lax security invited trespassers. If a fire spreads from floor to floor through the open elevator shafts it could turn into an inferno.
Renton Fire Authority responding to abandoned buildings on Garden and Park Avenue. Firefighters are using ladder trucks instead of the building’s stairwells to reach the roof due to the many hazards inside the building. Photo taken at about 8:00 PM today along Park Avenue (west side of building)More units were positioned defensively on the north side of the building, many from neighboring jurisdictions. If the fire had grown into an inferno, these rigs were positioned to reduce the chance of it spreading.
Screenshot from Social Media video showing broken office furnishings and mechanical equipment that had been tossed onto Park Avenue, apparently from six stories up
Just two weeks ago a teen in Colorado was convicted of murder for throwing a rock which punctured a car windshield and killed the driver. Thrown objects from Renton’s derelict Park Avenue buildings could readily cause a similar death.
Four months after Renton’s Public Safety Chair assured the public that she was taking the safety of of the Park Avenue buildings very seriously, a social media post now shows evidence of office furniture being hurled from the taller of the two buildings onto Park Avenue below.
This is not the first time that objects have been thrown from high up in this building, but I have not previously seen photographic evidence of objects being thrown into the traffic lanes.
Renton’s Public Safety Chair, Carmen Rivera, shared an entry on several social media sites on January 13 stating “We remain committed to ensuring the property is secured and that we can move toward a resolution that benefits the community.” In the same post she assured the public the property would be secured and patrolled.
A month later, I documented here that the property had not in fact been adequately secured. Please see that post for complete background on this topic.
These buildings are desperately out of compliance, and the City of Renton has every right to go onto the property and physically abate them, and bill the out-of-state ownership group for the cost. To meet code, the deathtrap buildings need to be emptied of occupants, and all doors and windows secured with either the originally designed glazing or architectural panels that match the building. Cleanup should occur around the buildings to eliminate blight. The buildings should then be surveilled, with electronic means and perhaps an occupant residing in a trailer onsight, until the buildings can demolished per an approved permit. I would also like to see water service restored to the buildings, with at least temporary fire protective equipment, so that the open-elevator-shaft, waterless building does not turn into an inferno that threatens our entire city.
If the City had conducted emergency physical abatement when many of us had first recommended it, these buildings could still be valuable and serviceable, and could continue to support thousands of jobs in Renton.
Broken windows and graffiti are found on all sides of the buildings
Renton motor vehicle thefts, burglaries, and robberies all spiked as police pursuits were curtailed in 2021; then declined when police were reauthorized to pursue in 2024. Reckless driving injuries and fatalities are not shown on this chart but they also climbed dramatically with the non-pursuit law.
Washington State legislators undertook a deadly experiment in 2021, and residents of our state suffered immeasurable pain and suffering as a result. The Legislator limited the ability of police to pursue criminals, and consequently increased motor vehicle thefts, burglaries, robberies, and (most tragically of all) reckless driving fatalities. Their ill-conceived law empowered perpetrators of these dangerous and destructive crimes to simply drive away from police, even in stolen cars if they chose to, without worry about being pursued. Many of us spoke out vehemently about the harm this was causing our residents, but it took years of heartbreaking tragedies to finally persuade enough of our legislators to undo their foolish law.
Washington legislators were determined to show that they could reduce the 3 to 6 deaths that occur statewide from police chases, and instead of altering that trend, they got hundreds of new fatalities as criminals sped recklessly with abandon through all our streets and highways. The latest statistics show Renton saw hundreds of additional crimes during this time period, as can be seen in the chart above. Rates of crimes in these categories finally began falling in 2024, when the police pursuit limitations were repealed.
Currently our legislature is looking at reduced penalties for perpetrators caught in child sex stings, as well as reduced sentences for a large number of other crimes. They are also considering preventing officers from pulling over cars for broken equipment and/or lapsed registrations (and typically insurance). I hope they put more analysis and thought into their deliberations this year than they did in 2021, when they effectively sentenced many of our innocent residents to beatings, burglaries, robberies, assaults and even death on our roadways and elsewhere.
A screenshot of the ValleyCom 911 dispatch log, showing steady Renton Police dispatches for stolen cars this morning
Renton cars are being stolen at record rates in Renton. Our Valley Comm dispatch center shows twenty-one vehicles stolen in the past 24 hours. Many of these cars will be found extensively damaged and abandoned within days, having been used in commission of other crimes. Just one year ago I shared that Renton car thefts had increased 70% from the year prior, reaching 5 per day. Today’s rate is a 420% increase over that high March 2023 average.
If this rate of vehicle theft were to continue, Renton would see 7665 vehicles stolen in the next year, representing about 10 percent of all our vehicles and $100-150 million dollars in vehicle damages. (This amount of money is approximately three times Renton’s entire annual police budget). While the victims of the car theft suffer the most in these thefts, all Renton motorists will pay for this damage through higher insurance rates.
Many of these cars will be driven through the doors of local businesses, used in other burglaries and crimes, and driven recklessly through our city. In most cases, Renton Police have been forbidden to stop them. Unless officers see certain violent crimes being committed (and burglaries and reckless driving don’t count), the officers can’t pursue these vehicles under the 2021 Washington Police pursuit law.
There are some state legislators that somehow believe that having 21 cars stolen in Renton every night– driven recklessly through our city and crashed into our buildings– has made us safer because we are not put at risk by police chases any more.
As a scientist and engineer, I assure you these legislators are absolutely wrong about this. Since passing the law in 2021, Washington’s highway fatalities have been skyrocketing to the highest levels in decades, not dropping as these legislators over-simplistically predicted. Hundreds of additional state residents are being killed annually on our highways since the time the police were banned from pursuing stolen cars. While other states are getting safer, Washington is getting far more dangerous.
While our fatalities skyrocket, we watch powerlessly as unlicensed juveniles increasingly race stolen cars for fun, and criminals drive any speed they like. While the limitations on police chases have saved approximately three lives per year in Washington, this small gain is not nearly worth the hundreds of lives lost statewide, and the billions in statewide crime and damages. Tragically for our next generation, these policies are also teaching some of our youth that crime pays more than going to school and learning job skills, curtailing their opportunities to build the fulfilling, healthy lives we all want for them.
Our State Legislators are reviewing the police pursuit legislation this coming week, and Renton residents are encouraged to let them know how you feel about letting our cars get stolen with impunity. Also, tell them you want to be safe driving on our roads again, and you are getting tired of seeing the fronts of your favorite business covered in plywood.
You can email your legislators at the following addresses:
Senator Bob Hasegawa, Bob.Hasegawa@leg.wa.gov
Representative Steve Bergquist, Steve.Bergquist@leg.wa.gov
Representative David Hackney, David.Hackney@leg.wa.gov
These vehicle thefts all happened within minutes of each other. Valley Comm continuously updates the previous 24-hours of calls on it’s website, in this format. It’s not possible for readers to sort by call type, so I’ve extracted 24 hours of vehicle theft data in the table below.
Below is the extract of auto-theft calls to 911 in the past 24 hours, including the partial address where each vehicle theft was reported. (Note that there may be others: if a victim filed an online reporting instead of calling 911 to report their car stolen, it would not appear on this list.)
For more information on this topic, including links to additional source data, click here.
The glass doors on 500 Park Avenue have become plywood. And the beautiful glass wrapped staircases that jet out in front of the building, giving the building distinction, have been repeatedly damaged by vandals.
Those of us who worked for Boeing have great memories of the sprawling company office campus in North Renton, with some of the nicest buildings being 535 N 6th street and 500 Park Avenue North. Both buildings, built in the 1980s, offered excellent work spaces and conference rooms, easy parking, and nice views. Thousands of us either worked-in or visited these warm, inviting engineering and logistics centers, sometime around the clock when big projects were in-work, letting ourselves in using our badges that functioned like key-cards. Boeing always cared for them meticulously, the way the company oversees all of its properties. Company employees affectionately referred to the buildings by their company codes; the larger one was the 10-16 and the smaller one the 10-13.
500 Park Avenue North from near the larger building at 535 N 6th street
These buildings were sold by Boeing to an LLC owned by a San Diego Company in 2021 as part of a property consolidation , and unfortunately the buildings have been vacant ever since. During that time Renton started seeing worsening crime problems throughout the area. Renton also saw dramatic increases in the number of people experiencing homelessness in Renton, a challenge actually made worse by the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. The agency bussed hundreds of chronically homeless individuals from downtown Seattle to Renton hotels, and when an individual broke too many rules, the Authority would evict them out of their hotel space and onto Renton streets.
While Boeing never would have let it happen under their watch, the buildings under new ownership are beginning to look abandoned, with broken windows on all sides, doors that appear boarded up and barricaded, metal gratings and fixtures stolen for scrap, and HVAC and electric service stripped of parts.
Two weeks ago there was a fire on the first floor of the taller building, and the Renton Fire Authority extinguished the flames and rescued two people and a dog from the roof. It’s obvious that people have been entering these buildings without authorization. Broken windows have been covered with wood to block intruders, but it does not appear that anyone is currently doing fire repair and remediation work, like drying out the interior before mold sets in. The other building, the 10-13, is missing some of it’s upper windows, letting the elements get in.
Renton Regional Fire Authority put out a fire in 535 Park Ave North on June 11, and rescued two people and a dog from the roof of the building
New fences on Logan Avenue in Renton help protect Boeing worker’s cars from thieves and prowlers
Anyone still arguing that crime is not really so bad should take a drive down Park Avenue or Logan Avenue in Renton. For the first time in history, Boeing in Renton has had to protect employees cars with fencing and cameras, after the tsunami of car thefts, catalytic converter thefts, and break-ins became too much for their employees. This was not an inexpensive measure for Boeing to take, and it hurts the aesthetics of their campus, but they did it for good cause.
Renton fire fighters respond to an aid call near Planet Fitness on East Valley Highway last night, only to find themselves surrounded by mayhem, hostility, and gunfire. Image from this video
Renton’s fire fighters have increasingly found themselves trying to respond to medical emergencies in the midst of mayhem and even gunfire, as illegal street races and other criminal behavior block their access to those who need assistance. Police are doing all they can, but they’re constrained by officer resources and State pursuit limitations that ludicrously ban them from chasing most reckless drivers. After a completely unacceptable scene last night near Planet Fitness on East Valley Highway, our Renton Fire Fighter’s Union Local number 864 is now asking for the public’s help in reversing the out-of-control deadly trend.
Renton Police officers with a police canine search a neighborhood near Valley Medical for a suspect in a case unrelated to a nearby shooting at Stonebrook Apartments. Photo courtesy of Scott Ference
Multiple Renton residents have been inquiring on social media about heavy Renton Police presence near Valley Medical. Renton Police Public Information Officer Cyndie Morris provided an update on Facebook to clear up confusion. Here is her summary:
Here are some details: At 4:23 pm, officers were dispatched to an illegal discharge at Stonebrook Apts 12210 SE Petrovitsky Rd). Multiple callers reporting shots heard with multiple subjects running throughout the complex. Two adult black males (both in their early 20’s) responded to Valley Medical Center with non-life threatening gunshot wounds to their legs (one wound a piece). Victims told officers they were simply standing outside in the complex when somebody ran up on them on foot and shot at them. Suspect was said to then have jumped into a vehicle and fled the scene. Victim advised they don’t know who shot them or why somebody would want to shoot them. No direct witnesses onscene were able to provide any additional information regarding what happened or who was involved. Victims declined to speak to officers any further about what occurred.
There was no arrest made in the above incident, BUT: As officers were at Valley Medical to interview victims/witnesses, they observed a known wanted juvenile suspect arrive with one of the victim’s. When officers challenged him, he fled on foot. Due to the seriousness of the juvenile’s outstanding warrant, officers pursued after him on foot, requesting assistance from Kent PD K9 and Guardian. Guardian was able to pinpoint the juvenile suspect’s location and officers arrested him without further incident.
