Police are searching for two burglars who went on a rampage in Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood, damaging a store and more than a dozen vehicles.
Early Thursday morning, they broke through the glass facade of a store and tried to steal a safe.
The spree of destruction they caused began at about 5:35 a.m., when callers to 911 reported a burglary in progress at a business on Northeast 71st Street near Woodlawn Avenue, just east of Green Lake’s baseball and swimming fields.
When officers arrived on scene, they found that part of the front wall of a store had been demolished.
Officers began an investigation and concluded that two male suspects were responsible for the destruction.
They say the two men, both dressed in overalls and masks, smashed a glass door.
Officials said the couple then wrapped a rope and chain around the store’s safe in an attempt to steal it.
Although they ultimately had to abandon the safe, the two men did their best to remove it. Police say they ripped it from its foundation and tore down a metal security gate from the store’s entrance.
They also smashed the front glass and window frames, leaving a mess of shattered glass and debris.
When the suspects realized they couldn’t steal the safe, they drove off in two vehicles, according to police. They were gone before officers arrived, but during their escape they crashed into more than a dozen vehicles parked on the street in their haste to leave the area, according to investigators.
On their way west, the two vehicles collided with at least 14 other vehicles.
A police supervisor said the suspects caused thousands of dollars in damage.
Detectives from the General Investigations Division have been assigned to this case and are working diligently to track down the couple who devastated this commercial district in east Green Lake.
If anyone has information, police ask that they call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Thomas Brock is a weekend editor, reporter and presenter at KIRO Newsradio.
