Banana Republic in Seattle

Auburn and Ballard High Schools in Seattle

Students at Auburn Riverside High School were attacked by organized groups of masked men as they ran through the halls.  Fox 13 News reported that “five people approached a side door of the school building around 1 p.m., which was locked while class is in session,” but  “a student opened the door for them, thinking they were supposed to be on campus.”  

After the school went on lockdown, local police were allowed to provide security for the students.  More than 500 students were kept home from school after last Monday’s attack.

In the Ballard section of Seattle, gangs of masked and armed robbers have lain in wait for students walking home and robbed them of wallets, money, and cell phones. The same thing happened to students walking home from the nearby Whitman Middle School.

Students report being jumped and mugged by four to six armed gangsters.  An unidentified student told KOMO, “I can probably name five or six people I know from Ballard who have actually encountered [the robbers]. I feel pretty scared. it’s just crazy that this is happening so close to school, especially that it is with real guns” [emphasis added].

“I know they’ve jumped a few people,” Cove Brammer, a sophomore, told KOMO. “It’s a little scary because I walk home alone and I have my phone and my wallet.”

Only a little scary?

The stories keep coming. Another student, Henry Howisey, was waiting for some of his crew team members to get to his car when he got a call saying they’d been mugged.  “I was waiting on my friends to get in the car, and I get a call from my buddy saying, ‘We just got mugged around the corner from you,'” Howisey told KOMO News.

He ran to help them. “[T]hey’re fine. They just got things stolen. Usually, they get beat up pretty good, but they got lucky, and they didn’t get hurt,” he said.

In an email sent to families of Ballard High School students Friday, Principal Abby Hunt brought up safety concerns surrounding recent armed muggings of students.  Hunt mentioned that several incidents involved students walking in the neighborhood and are attacked and robbed in the last month.  A suspect has not been caught.

“I share this information not to evoke fear or panic, but rather to help you consider how you and your family can stay safe when you are out in the community,” Hunt said.  Hunt said she is working with regional school leaders and the district’s Safety and Security team on ways to keep their campus safe.  While the incidents are being investigated by the Seattle Police Department, Hunt suggested parents talk to their children about personal safety.  Hunt says students should stay alert to their surroundings and always plan their route. They should avoid uninhabited areas and stick to well-lit areas.  Other tips include putting your phone away while you’re walking and crossing the street or going into a store to avoid potentially bad situations.