Five teens accused of attacking a young couple on a Metro bus in Seattle have been charged. The 17-year-old victim and her boyfriend pleaded with the teens to stop their attack because the girl was pregnant.
A couple was riding a crowed King County Metro Transit Bus No. 358 bus in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington in King County.
About 7:00 p.m. five young females boarded the bus via the rear doors — one age 19, three age 16, and one age 14.
The young couple was returning home from a pregnancy checkup and listening to the same Zune mp3 player while sharing headphones on the Zune.
One of the five females started talking to the boyfriend, and one of the girls struck the girlfriend of the couple. When the girlfriend turned around, she was struck by three of the girls and struck in the eye, which caused a bloody laceration that later required six stitches. Within 34 seconds, surveillance video shows that all five girls were attacking the couple.
The female victim told the offenders twice that she was pregnant and said she didn’t want to fight them. One of the offenders replied, “well, nobody hit her in the stomach.”
While the attack occurred, three of the girls stole items from the boyfriend’s pockets — including the Zune and cigarettes from the boyfriend’s pocket.
The attack continued until the bus pulled over and the victims were able to escape. The bus driver followed procedure by alerting authorities of the emergency, pulling over and waiting for police to arrive.
The female victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center for a laceration near her eye. Her boyfriend was only bruised. The female victim stated she did not know the offenders, but her boyfriend knew one of the offender from a summer party, where one of the offender claimed he stole her cell phone. The boyfriend denies that claim.
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Intersection of 85th Street and Aurora where three of the suspects were arrested.
Seattle Metro Police tracked down three of the alleged attackers at 85th and Aurora about 30 minutes after the attack. The other two were arrested at a later time.
Investigators credited the surveillance camera on board with providing crucial evidence to crack the case. The metro bus is clearly marked as a video coach.
In Seattle, 400 Metro buses have cameras onboard the buses.
The 19-year-old female offender was charged with assault and has since bailed out of jail. The other four females were charged with second-degree robbery. Three remain in custody while the fourth is on electronic home monitoring, police said. All five girls criminal histories with prior arrests.
Belltown neighborhood in Seattle, Washington is located on the city’s downtown waterfront, on land that was artificially flattened as part of a regrading project. Formerly a low-rent, semi-industrial arts district, in recent decades it has transformed into a neighborhood of trendy restaurants, boutiques, nightclubs, and residential towers as well as warehouses and art galleries. Although many new businesses have eclipsed older ones, some old-time respected establishments still draw crowds of loyal patrons. Some of the classic, old Seattle nightspots in Belltown include The Rendezvous, Mama’s Mexican Kitchen, The Lava Lounge, Ohana, The Crocodile Cafe, and Shorty’s. Belltown also has an extraordinary array of restaurants (over 100 in the zip code alone).
The neighborhood is bounded on the north by Denny Way, beyond which lies Seattle Center, Uptown, and Queen Anne Hill, on the southwest by Elliott Bay, on the southeast by Virginia Street, beyond which lies the Pike Place Market and the rest of Downtown, and on the northeast by 5th Avenue, beyond which lies the Denny Triangle.