Shooting highlights crime concerns in Lynnwood

LYNNWOOD, Wash. — The city of Lynnwood is seeing a sizeable spike in crime, including a 30% increase in violent crimes in the past year.

On Wednesday, KIRO 7 returned to Spruce Park in Lynnwood where two teenage boys were fatally shot last week and found a memorial that was set up to remember them.

But to give a clearer understanding of how crime is impacting the city, when a KIRO 7 crew went to the park to find out about the murders of the teens, the crew also spoke to Ericka Garcia, whose car was stolen.

“The cops were gonna come and check it out, but they’re busy so I just came myself,” Garcia told KIRO 7.

Garcia was at the park because someone had stolen and dumped her car at the park.

“I thought it (the car) got towed, so when I found out it hadn’t gotten towed, I was really devastated,” Garcia said.

Garcia’s car was found less than 20 feet away from the spot where the teens were fatally shot.

A GoFundMe was set up for the boys, and nearly a week later, support continues to pour in.

“Gang violence, that stuff needs to stop, and I don’t like the fact that people are getting killed over some stuff they didn’t want to be involved with,” one resident said.

Given the spike in crime in Lynnwood, KIRO 7 found out more about the efforts to hire more officers in the city.

By the end of September, four new officers will join the Lynnwood Police Department. Four others who are in the academy are expected to be added once they graduate.

The city also plans to add five officer positions in the next several months, which means there could be a total of 13 new officers on staff by the same time next year.

So far this year, Lynnwood has recorded at least four homicides, resulting in the most cases in at least a decade.

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