This afternoon a reader let us know about an in-progress large police presence on the 1600 block of N. 46th Street that began before 1 p.m. A friend who lives nearby then emailed us this description:
There were 18 police cars (inlcuding some undercover), plus Medic one, fire engines, etc. since 12:30 or so on 46th and Densmore. Apparently, an “unstable” man in the yellow house, and when I walked by at 2:45 someone came out with a mask, and they have a stretcher waiting.
By the time we arrived at the scene, around 3:10 p.m., all police and fire personnel had left, save for one officer who was talking with a woman in a squad car. Neighbors said that they stayed inside during the police activity because n they saw some SWAT officers with AK-47s assault rifles.
Seattle Police Department spokesman Mark Jamieson told us at 2:50 p.m. that negotiators were trying to establish a dialogue with a male who was causing disturbance. At that time, SPD did not believe that the man in the house had a gun.
At 3:00 p.m. SeattleCrime.com reported:
Police have entered the building using pepper spray and were able to subdue the man.
According to radio reports from medics at the scene, the man has a history of “psych issues” and was subdued by two canisters of pepper spray after a two-hour standoff.
Quite a scene on the street today. I work in Wallingford and sometimes park on 46th. I've always cut the yellow house a wide berth when walking by it- gave me the creeps but I couldn't tell you why. I hope the fellow in question gets help and neighborhood safety ensues.
Your source doesn't know anything about guns. No SWAT team uses AK-47s. I witnessed the scene as well and they were carrying M-16 assault rifles.
Thanks for your note. I updated the story to a more generic description.