Police Investigating Possible Connection Between Assaults and Robberies in University District

Police are investigating a possible connection between a series of assaults and attempted robberies overnight in the University District. 

Shortly after 5 PM, police received a report of four men assaulting a 23-year-old man in the 4500 block of 15th Avenue Northeast.

The suspects reportedly kicked and punched the victim, leaving him unconscious as they fled the scene. 

A short time later, around 5:45 PM two women were walking in the 4500 block of 18th Avenue when three men and a woman in a Mercedes sedan pulled up near them in an alleyway and exited the car.

The female suspect grabbed one of the women and punched her in the face. One of the men then used a taser on the victim.

Another uninvolved group of people approached the alley, surprising the suspects, who climbed back in their car and fled the area.

Around 8:15, police received reports of at least two unsuccessful carjackings in the area, and later that night, around 11:45 PM, two men pulled guns on employees in a robbery at a restaurant in the 4200 block of University Way Northeast. The suspects forced the employees into a back room and ordered them to empty their pockets before fleeing the area with the victims’ phones and wallets.

Police are investigating a possible connection between all of these incidents, and are asking anyone with information to contact the Robbery Unit at 206-684-5535.

Update 1/26: Police are investigating another carjacking, potentially connected to previous cases in the University District.

On Tuesday, around 5:45 PM, a food delivery driver reported two men pulled him from his vehicle in the 4700 block of University Way NE.

One of the suspects used a stun gun on the man while the other brandished a knife.

One suspect stole the victim’s silver Toyota Corolla while the other left the scene on foot.

Detectives continue to investigate these cases and urge anyone with information to call 206-684-5535.

Article Source: News from City of Seattle