Following shooting, Rainier Beach residents say National Night Out parties improve community safety
Following shooting Friday, Rainier Beach residents say National Night Out parties improve community safety
After a violent start to summer in Rainier Beach, including a night where five people were shot near a Safeway, neighbors there are coming together to try to make their neighborhoods a bit safer.
SEATTLE - National Night Out block parties took place in cities across the Sound Tuesday night. After a violent start to summer in Rainier Beach, including a mass shooting Friday near a Safeway, neighbors there are coming together to try to make their neighborhoods a bit safer.
"I know many of the neighbors simply because of the Night Out," said James Keblas, a Rainier Beach resident.
"I do think that having events like this will bring people together," said Heather Elsa, a Rainer Beach resident.
Elsa helped to organize the picnic for their neighborhood Night Out Block party in Rainier Beach Tuesday. She said she had been shopping with her child at the Safeway not long before that shooting happened outside. She says the past two years have been very violent in Rainier Beach and safety is a big issue now for the community.
5 people shot in Rainier Beach Safeway parking lot, SPD searching for 2 suspects
Five people were shot in the parking lot of a Rainier Beach Safeway Friday night, and four of those people had to be taken to the hospital.
"I was both horrified that I had just been there, and that we were in danger," said Elsa.
"This is about keeping us going, keeping us glowing in spite of something like that," said Keblas.
Elsa said the shooters fired at a group who regularly provides food and resources for those in need on Friday nights.
"When I heard it was towards these volunteers who are taking their time on a Friday night to dedicate to these people, it just broke my heart," said Elsa.
Mayor Bruce Harrell stopped by multiple National Night Out parties Tuesday night. He said that safety is a unifying element that starts with getting to know one another.
"When you see such a tragic incident like that, we have to double down on our approach, to support our officers, working with our community leaders, all trying to protect our community, and making sure our investigations are thorough, and we have to pull together to protect one another," said Harrell.
South Seattle community fed up with violence following shooting at Safeway
Two people are still in the hospital following a shooting that Seattle Police Chief Adrien Diaz called "disturbing."
Yvette Dinish helped to distribute food at her local National Night Out block party in Rainier Beach. She says when you can identify who you live with, you care a little bit more. She says Friday's shooting near the local Safeway made her even more determined to participate.
"To show that violence doesn’t stop us from doing good things in our community. Because someone asked me, are you still going to do this in spite of the shooting ? Well Yes. Especially in spite of the shooting. Because being steadfast is important in Rainier Beach," said Dinish, Colored Girls Garden Club Founder.
Elsa says that she hasn't seen politicians regularly in her Rainier Beach community in the past. After the shooting, that changed, and she hopes city leaders continue to address the violence directly.
"I think safety is a big issue for this community, we’ve had more violence in this community in the last 2-years than people who’ve lived in this community for 10 years have ever seen," said Elsa. "That is another reason I want to slow things down, and I want people to get to know each other. The safety of this neighborhood is in question right now."