SEATTLE, WA – Another shooting in Seattle’s Capital Hill Autonomous Zone (CHOP) leaves a 16 year old boy dead and a 14 year old boy fighting for his life. Police responded after multiple 911 calls came in reporting gun fire at 3:00AM on Monday morning.
You are responsible @MayorJenny
RESIGN. https://t.co/YvOxiw3mui
— Ray Dietrich 🇺🇸 #DefendPolice (@raydietrichs) June 29, 2020
In a statement, Police Chief Carmen Best said:
“When investigators arrived they found a white Jeep Cherokee riddled with bullets. When we got inside the CHOP, these men were gone. We were told that people who identify themselves as CHOP medics transported them in a private vehicle [to a local hospital.]”
Once at the hospital, one victim was pronounced dead with a teenage boy being left in critical condition.
Police and detectives were unable to find evidence at the scene of the shooting with Best stating:
“It is abundantly clear to our detectives people had been in and out of the car after the shooting.”
The Jeep mentioned above, which is what the two teens were in during the gunfire, crashed into one of the barricades. A man can be heard in one video surveillance saying, “Oh, you’re not dead yet?”
A woman allegedly told “CHOP security” that there were “two people with guns” and a “stolen white Jeep” in the area just prior to the shots being fired.
CW: gun violence #seattleprotests #seattleprotestcomms #chopcomms Jeep comes WB from 11th/Pike turns NB onto 12th from 12th/Pike, crashes into a barricade halfway between Pike and Pine. Lots of shots fired. People in jeep hit with return fire pic.twitter.com/wfpV7GDp7M
— Subpixel Alchemist (@MarcusKulik) June 29, 2020
Detectives are currently looking for witnesses to gather information about what happened with Best claiming:
“As has been the case in other cases up in this area people are not being cooperative with our request for help.”
Best concluded the statement by saying:
“Enough is enough. Two African American men dead at a place where they claim to be working for Black Lives Matter. But they’re gone, they’re dead now.”
Her frustration is clear as she announced:
“We’ve had multiple other incidents assaults, rape, robbery, and shootings and so this is something that is going to need to change.”
Teen, 16, dies & 14-year-old is wounded after Seattle antifa/BLM CHAZ security fire shots into their car. Video shows a man yelling, “You’re not dead yet?” Police are trying to investigate but the crime scene had been tampered with. https://t.co/DkKXfSrYEK
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 29, 2020
The other deceased black man that Best refers to is 19 year old Horace Lorenzo Anderson who was murdered in a shooting last week at the edge of CHOP. Monday morning represents the fourth shooting in CHOP in nine days.
Protesters have been asked to leave CHOP by Chief Best but it is unlikely that people with heed the demands of police. Jenny Durkan, the mayor of Seattle, announced that the barricades surrounding CHOP would be removed on Sunday, however the borders are reportedly still intact following this shooting. This, apparently, is due to a protester pulling a gun out when the bulldozers were sent in.
Seattle’s City Council members have also been slow to condemn CHOP.
In a press briefing on Monday, Councilmember Kshama Sawant stated:
“[The shooting] highlights the urgency to address the endemic violence in our society under capitalism.”
Sawant continued:
“Violence was happening on Capitol Hill and in other parts of the city long before the CHOP occupation was created by the movement and we should completely reject the false claims — claims that have no basis in statistical analysis — that the CHOP occupation and the movement was the reason for any of the violence.”
Another person is dead and a 14-year-old is in critical condition following a fifth shooting in Seattle’s “CHAZ.” https://t.co/CcXWdGJPGp
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 29, 2020
This sentiment was shared by Council President M. Lorena González who agreed with Sawant and blamed a nationwide gun violence crisis.
González stated:
“And this is not being caused by … a specific zone within our city. This is, frankly, being caused by unscrupulous gun dealers who allow far too easy access to weapons that are then utilized by people in this way.”
It is unclear what actions City Council members will take, if any, to combat the violence within CHOP.
As for the shooting, police are actively investigating the crime and hope people will come forward with information. There is currently no description of the suspect, as many questions remaining unanswered in the wake of this tragedy.
Law Enforcement Today has been following the CHAZ/CHOP area since its inception. Here’s another recent article we brought you on the zone.
The situation that is CHOP, formally dubbed as CHAZ, is still an issue plaguing the city of Seattle – and that issue recently found itself right on the doorstep of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s home.
What’s worse, is that this group of protesters were led by none other than a Seattle City Councilmember.
Protesters march to Seattle Mayor Durkan’s house as ‘CHOP’ scene continues https://t.co/yN1P2PHBq7
— KING 5 News (@KING5Seattle) June 29, 2020
Word was that the infamous “autonomous zone” was meant to be dismantled as of June 28th, yet it still stands reportedly.
Instead, city Councilmember Kshama Sawant thought it would be a move in good taste to speak to a group of people occupying the CHOP area on June 28th to discuss the protesters demands.
But it didn’t just end with speaking to the group – Sawant also escorted the protesters to the home of Mayor Durkan. One of the protesters present during the gathering outside of the mayor’s home stated the following about the rationale of bringing the protest to the mayor’s house:
“We came down to Jenny Durkan’s mansion to bring the demands of the movement and of the families who have been impacted by police violence to her doorstep as she seems to not be able to hear our demands any other way.”
Whether one agrees with how the mayor may or may not be addressing matters as of late, there’s something genuinely off-putting about rallying outside of someone’s home where their children sleep. Furthermore, the idea that an elected official would consider it to be in proper form to join in on said form of demonstration is concerning.
And Mayor Durkan was not thrilled about Sawant’s engagement in said act – and the mayor’s office called her out by name in a statement regarding the careless act:
“Mayor Durkan and her family are in the state program to keep their address confidential because of the death threats mostly related to her work as Seattle’s U.S. Attorney under President Obama. Instead of working to make true change, Councilmember Sawant continues to choose political stunts.”
The statement by the mayor’s office continued, highlighting that while protesting is all good and well – but bringing a demonstration to someone’s home is where the line is drawn:
“Tonight [Councilmember Sawant] did so without regard for the safety of the Mayor and her family. The Mayor was not even home – she was working at City Hall. Seattle can and should peacefully demonstrate but should not put families and children at risk.”
As mentioned earlier, the CHOP/CHAZ area was meant to be taken down, but there have been some hiccups to say the least.
The end was seemingly drawing near to what is known as CHAZ/CHOP in Seattle, as there were reportedly bulldozers that started hitting the scene in the early morning on June 26th.
SDOT shows up at Seattle’s CHOP in attempt to remove concrete barricades https://t.co/ScEFrejoIP via @Q13FOX @BrandiKruse @MayorJenny @carmenbest One of my favorite quotes: Yoda, “Do or do not, THERE IS NO TRY.”
— Pat Walker (@ermother) June 26, 2020
There were some rumors of a voluntary departure of inhabitants of the CHOP/CHZA area that was circulated earlier in June, but there was reportedly not much to validate those claims.
While it has been reported that both trucks and bulldozers were pulling away from the scene as of 7:30 a.m. on the 26th, it shows that the city and officials are serious about getting the mess known as CHOP cleaned up.
Bulldozers exiting CHOP past pike #seattleprotest #seattleprotestcomms #CHOPcomms
— ✨ Lila ✨ (@lilalololol) June 26, 2020
One demonstrator was reported as laying their body down on the street on 12th Avenue where a bulldozer was originally staged, while other trucks were seen originally lined up outside of the barricades that were established in the zone.
Protesters from Seattle’s CHOP confront construction workers and lie down in front of bulldozers https://t.co/JP2VWaocK8
— Newsyword (@1newsyworld) June 26, 2020
This comes on the heels of when Mayor Jenny Durkan forewarned that the area was going to be rightfully appropriated from those occupying the area for the last few weeks.
Crew members of the Seattle Department of Transportation, as well as SDOT Director Sam Zimbabwe and Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins, apparently conversed with some of the occupiers present at CHOP. The context of the conversation had with those present wasn’t divulged, but it was likely a heads up that there’s eventually going to be crews cleaning things up in the area.
There has been murmurs of some kind of agreement that has taken place where occupiers of the CHOP zone have allegedly agreed to move certain barricades to condense the size of the occupied area. However, there has been no official confirmation of said rumors.
Agreement between protesters and SDOT to move barricades at 13th to 12th and Pike. Capitol Hill area quiet now as City of Seattle bulldozers and police move out of the #CHOP #CHOPCHAZ #CHOPZone #CHOPseattle pic.twitter.com/PCGuDC4Rtd
— KarinKB (@KarinKB) June 26, 2020
The situation in CHOP is developing, please follow Law Enforcement Today for the latest on the status of the occupied area.
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