SEATTLE — Someone was hurt in nearly half of the shootings in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood this year, according to the latest police data. Now, one of those survivors is calling for an end to the violence after a day that altered his life forever.
During the afternoon of Feb. 20, the co-owner of King Smoke Shop in Ballard very nearly lost his life. He preferred we did not use his name.
“It was actually 4 o'clock in the afternoon,” the shop owner said. “This guy walks in. He, you know, he seems suspicious. It seemed like, it was—something, you know, something off about him.”
He continued, “He has some lollipops in his hand,” the shop owner said. “We have a normal conversation.”
The man can be heard in surveillance video asking the shop owner, “How long you been having this shop?”
The shop owner begins to respond when the man can be seen reaching into his pocket. Suddenly, he grabs him by the jacket, holds him at gunpoint, and manages his way behind the register, all within seconds.
“Him and me are, you know, in a little fighting match. I was going after, I was going after the gun… I was trying to save my life here. So I was going, I was going for his gun. And then he-- he just started shooting, you know, he just started shooting. He shot me. I believe it's 10 times,” the shop owner said.
But the shop owner was armed too. He quickly reaches for his own gun.
“I shot him twice. And then he ran out the door, outside, and then he just collapsed,” he recalled.
The attacker died in the parking lot.
“I just tried to save my life,” he said.
And, miraculously, his life was saved.
“I have like 12 holes. Both thighs, one foot,” he said.
His life, he said, is forever changed for the worse by the senseless gun violence.
“That pain, I still remember it,” he said.
He added, “It's-- it's gonna be hard-- it's just hard to live with, you know? And then the trauma, especially coming back here, you know, it's not easy.”
He said he has started to feel somewhat better in the last month and now believes one of his higher purposes is to make change for the better; specifically, by encouraging law changes in Washington.
“Gun violence is a big issue and it's getting worse,” he said. “People are more bolder now because they think they can get away with it… There’s more that needs to be done. Gun violence is killing people every day.”
He said his perspective on life has been altered forever.
“The only thing, when you survive something like that: you appreciate everything. Even the small things you appreciate, you know, in life,” he said.
The issue of violence, threats and robberies has gotten bad enough in the North Seattle area recently that the Seattle Police Department devoted resources to hosting a virtual personal safety class Thursday night to try and teach people in the community ways to avoid becoming the next victim.