Thursday afternoon shooting puts Lake City problems in spotlight

Some of the problems our neighborhood regularly faces were put in a glaring spotlight on Thursday after a shooting outside of the 99-Cent Etc. store injured two people.

The location is a known gathering point where chronic public inebriates, drug dealers and others that exhibit nuisance behaviors regularly hang out. Judging from comments on news sites many people are uncomfortable going to the surrounding businesses because of the public inebriates and others that gather there. One commenter said "Much of Lake City appears to have become a north end ghetto."

The shooting happened next door to the Cedar Park Senior Housing Assistance Group apartments and across the street from the old Fire Station 39, a site the City of Seattle has proposed turning into housing for homeless families and low-income housing. Neighborhood groups, including Douglas Park Cooperative, are fighting the proposal as putting even more vulnerable people into an area already reeling from its addiction and violence problems —and an obvious lack of services that empower the community— would further encourage a vicious cycle.

Below is some of the coverage of the Thursday shooting. We have embedded videos where able and others are links to content on other sites.

KING5 coverage:



Q13 FOX coverage:


Here is a link to KIRO TV's story.

Here is a link to the Seattle P-I's story.

Here is the Seattle Times story. 

Here is info from the Seattle Police Department.