Boy, 12, arrested in West Seattle for attempted carjacking

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) arrested a 12-year-old boy following his suspected involvement in an attempted carjacking in the West Seattle neighborhood at the end of last month.

Late in the morning of Aug. 30, SPD officers responded to reports of “an in-progress carjacking by multiple juvenile suspects” in the 4300 block of Holgate Street, according to a post from the department’s SPD Blotter.

Members of the SPD located one of the suspects, who was unintentionally left behind by his accomplices. Officers also detained a male bystander who was armed with a gun.

Officers determined the owner of the vehicle found four or five suspects inside of that vehicle and were attempting to steal it. Bystanders and witnesses confronted the suspects who exited the vehicle, leaving a cell phone behind, the SPD Blotter post states.

The suspects later returned for the phone and charged at one of the involved individuals. A bystander then fired at least one shot at the suspects’ getaway vehicle. From there, the suspects fled the scene leaving one child behind. Officers arrested that child for attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

Officers also arrested the bystander for aiming or discharging a firearm. The SPD reported he was released from custody at the scene pending further investigation. The firearm used was recovered as evidence. In addition, two shell casings were recovered.

The SPD has, to this point, failed to locate any other suspects.

Crime blotter: Looking more at the crimes committed in the Puget Sound region

Looking more at juvenile crimes in Washington

Looking at arrest data, the top crimes for juveniles in Washington in 2023 were liquor law violations, drunkenness, robbery and vehicle theft. Strachan believes more juveniles are living a life of crime.

“More than 20% of arrestees for motor vehicle theft in 2023 were juveniles,” Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) Executive Director Steve Strachan said during a press session earlier this summer. “And we’ve seen an increase just from 2022 to 2023 of 24% in juveniles arrested.”

The data from the WASPC’s recent reports show there were 6,234 juvenile arrests in 2022 and 7,730 in 2023. (A PDF of the organization’s 2022 Crime in Washington report can be seen here. A PDF of the 2023 version of the report can be viewed here.)

Moving over the city of Renton, juvenile crime is skyrocketing in that Western Washington city, Police Chief Jon Schuldt said earlier this year.

“There’s no other way to put it, but what we are seeing is more and more juveniles involved in violent and property crimes. In some cases, rates are doubling and tripling year over year,” Schuldt stated in an X post.

Schuldt cited some startling numbers, noting that juvenile assaults jumped 40%, stolen vehicles swelled 342% and armed robberies of gas stations skyrocketed a stunning 900% from 2022 to 2023.

The Renton police chief posted his message in March, the day after two 15-year-olds were arrested for driving a stolen car and carrying a loaded handgun.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest; James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.