DrewGunner
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Violent brawl on Alki has residents worried
SEATTLE - A public brawl that broke out overnight Saturday at Alki Beach has neighbors saying something needs to be done to stop the violence.
Neighbors say it's not the first time people have thrown punches along the popular beach in West Seattle, but Saturday night's fight was more like a small riot. They fear if the fights continue to escalate, someone's going to be killed.
During the day, the street is lined with fair-goers and families and is known as a prime place for people-watching. But by night on Saturday, the area turned violent.
"This was not what we wanted to watch," said Alki resident John Polnik, who caught the violence on tape. "I don't think anybody in the neighborhood was excited about seeing this."
Polnik was asleep when the brawl began. He says roughly 30 to 40 people were initially involved.
By the time his wife called police and he started recording, the crowd had diminished, but the aggression had not.
"One guy was hitting another guy with bottle," said Polnik. "The guy tried to bust a bottle over his head."
The video shows the crowd using what appear to be beer bottles as weapons. One man was swinging nunchuks.
"It's been getting worse, and it's alarming," said resident Jerry Wrightson, who's lived along Alki for 19 years. Wrightson said when the bars get out, fights sometimes break out, but Saturday night's clash was something else.
"Somebody could have died, and everybody would have disappeared," said Wrightson. "It didn't happen this time, but next time it could."
By the time Seattle police rolled up, most of the people involved were gone. Neighbors hope next time, cop cars will be patrolling the area before the tension erupts.
"We were genuinely waiting for a gun to go off, and I think if someone had one in that group, it would have been used because no one had a cool head in that situation," said Polnik.
KING 5 tried to contact Seattle police regarding their presence in this area, but we haven't heard back. Neighbors who called 9-1-1 Saturday night did leave their names and numbers for follow-up interviews, but they say so far police haven't contacted them.
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_080607WAB_alki_brawl_LJ.9a4ebb4.html
Violent brawl on Alki has residents worried
SEATTLE - A public brawl that broke out overnight Saturday at Alki Beach has neighbors saying something needs to be done to stop the violence.
Neighbors say it's not the first time people have thrown punches along the popular beach in West Seattle, but Saturday night's fight was more like a small riot. They fear if the fights continue to escalate, someone's going to be killed.
During the day, the street is lined with fair-goers and families and is known as a prime place for people-watching. But by night on Saturday, the area turned violent.
"This was not what we wanted to watch," said Alki resident John Polnik, who caught the violence on tape. "I don't think anybody in the neighborhood was excited about seeing this."
Polnik was asleep when the brawl began. He says roughly 30 to 40 people were initially involved.
By the time his wife called police and he started recording, the crowd had diminished, but the aggression had not.
"One guy was hitting another guy with bottle," said Polnik. "The guy tried to bust a bottle over his head."
The video shows the crowd using what appear to be beer bottles as weapons. One man was swinging nunchuks.
"It's been getting worse, and it's alarming," said resident Jerry Wrightson, who's lived along Alki for 19 years. Wrightson said when the bars get out, fights sometimes break out, but Saturday night's clash was something else.
"Somebody could have died, and everybody would have disappeared," said Wrightson. "It didn't happen this time, but next time it could."
By the time Seattle police rolled up, most of the people involved were gone. Neighbors hope next time, cop cars will be patrolling the area before the tension erupts.
"We were genuinely waiting for a gun to go off, and I think if someone had one in that group, it would have been used because no one had a cool head in that situation," said Polnik.
KING 5 tried to contact Seattle police regarding their presence in this area, but we haven't heard back. Neighbors who called 9-1-1 Saturday night did leave their names and numbers for follow-up interviews, but they say so far police haven't contacted them.
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_080607WAB_alki_brawl_LJ.9a4ebb4.html
