TUKWILA, Wash. — Tukwila police arrested a 12-year-old girl with a “no cares attitude” who officers say has been involved in a string of robberies and “vicious” attacks over the last few months that mostly targeted elderly women.
Her latest arrest stems from an incident on Monday evening, when officers were called to a business in the Southcenter area for a report of a robbery.
The victim told officers she was in the bathroom at the business when she was attacked by a girl who stole her phone and then ran away. Police said the suspect was a 12-year-old girl, who is well-known to officers.
Tukwila officers said they tracked the victim’s phone to a business near Fourth and Andover Park East where the girl is known to hang out.
Officers spotted her hanging out with a female friend, and as police took the 12-year-old into custody, she encouraged her friend to attack an officer so that they could go to juvenile detention together and could continue to hang out, according to police.
Officers said her comments were in line with her previous “no cares attitude” she displayed in previous crimes, when she laughed or joked about her victims crying, being hurt, or emotionally traumatized.
“This is an unfortunate trend that has been growing across the region with juvenile suspects escalating their criminal behavior and expressing a lack of caring due to their belief that there is a total lack of consequences for said behavior,” the Tukwila Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Tukwila Police said the girl has been a suspect in these crimes:
Feb. 28: The girl followed an elderly woman from a bus on Andover Park West and First into a business, where she attacked the woman and stole her purse. The victim did not want to pursue charges.
March 13: The girl followed an elderly woman out of a business on Strander Boulevard near Third, knocked her to the ground, attacked her, and tried to steal her phone and purse. A bystander came to the woman’s rescue and the girl fled, but she was quickly found and taken into custody.
Apr 14: Officers were notified that the girl had cut off her ankle monitoring bracelet the day before. Later in the day, she got into a fight with someone and then attacked an elderly woman who happened to be nearby. The girl had been banned from the location but continually returned without worry, police said.
Apr. 18: The girl made a social media post asking others to meet her at a location where she had been banned and committed most of her crimes, with the goal of starting a large fight there. Officers intercepted the messages, quickly went to the location, and spotted the girl, who ran away but was found shortly after and was taken into custody on a warrant.
May 22: Officers were called to a report of an attack in the 13900 block of Military Road South where they were told the girl had tried to stab a romantic rival after a fight related to a boy they were both involved with.
According to police, the girl has repeatedly been offered help but instead of trying to improve her life, with each incident, her bad behavior has only worsened.
Because of previous arrests, she is required to be under strict supervision but recently cut off her ankle monitoring device.
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