SEATTLE — On Friday, the University of Washington sent out an alert to its followers warning them of the two reported armed robberies that happened 15 minutes apart.
According to the Seattle Police Department, the first incident happened around 6:15 p.m. when police said they answered a call about an armed robbery in an alley near the intersection of University Way Northeast and Northeast 42nd Street.
Shortly after the first call, SPD got another call about a similar robbery five blocks away from the first one. Police determined that the calls were related because of the similarities in the suspects’ descriptions, the proximity of both robberies and the time between both calls.
SPD requested help from the King County Sheriff’s Office’s Guardian One helicopter.
In the first robbery, the victim was found near his car in the alleyway near the “Cafe on the Ave” coffeehouse.
The victim told police through a translator that he was getting out of the car to visit a local restaurant when two people approached him and pointed a gun at his face. He told SPD that one of the suspects hit him before they took his money and ran off down the alley and west on Northeast 42nd Street.
The victim was not hurt and did not want to be seen by Seattle Fire.
The second robbery happened around 6:33 p.m. when police were called to an alley on Northeast 43rd Street between Roosevelt Way Northeast and 11th Avenue Northeast.
The victim told police that he was skateboarding in the alley when two people approached, pointed a gun and demanded the victim’s cell phone. The suspects took the phone and ran off toward Northeast 43rd Street.
SPD was able to find the phone but did not find the suspects.
SPD is asking anyone with information that could help with their investigation to call 911 and reference case numbers 24-357118 and 24-357128.