The incident came as a shock to people who live nearby.
A man suspected of trying to set a Planned Parenthood on fire in Bellevue is now behind bars as police believe there's no longer a threat to the community or to the clinic.
It happened after midnight on Sept. 18 in the 14,000 block of NE 8th Street, and police said they believe the building was targeted.
“It was learned that the building was actually targeted and he actually had a plan to set that building on fire,” BPD Capt. Shelby Shearer told KOMO News.
Fire crews reported seeing a man loitering nearby around 1 a.m., and police quickly arrested the 36-year-old suspect they say is homeless and booked him into the King County jail where he faces a charge of second-degree arson.
The incident came as a shock to people who live nearby.
“It’s all sorts of care that people need that they get from Planned Parenthood, so I think this is ridiculous that he would do that,” Emma Morton from Bellevue said.
He told police he used a rock to vandalize the front of the building, then tossed an ignited piece of paper through the broken glass.
Fire crews got the flames out fast and there was minimal damage, but Capt. Shearer said they take a crime like this seriously.
We also learned he acted alone, and it was all based on his own personal beliefs as the reason why he wanted to do this,” Capt. Shearer added. “Any time somebody commits a crime like this and the way he went about doing it, it has the potential to cause thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to a structure like this, and it impacts the community.
Bellevue police clarified they have no reason to believe the clinic would be targeted again.
“Not by this individual, and we have no intelligence that any other person is going to act on behalf of him,” Capt. Shearer responded. “He wasn’t affiliated with any other group. He wasn’t influenced by anyone other than his own personal beliefs, and at this time we believe the public is in no danger whatsoever.”
KOMO News is working to find out when the suspect will have his first court appearance.
“Overnight on September 18, the Bellevue Planned Parenthood Health Center experienced an unfortunate situation when an unhoused person broke a window and started a small fire. As always, the safety and security of patients and staff is our top priority, and we are grateful for the prompt response from the Bellevue Fire Department,” Planned Parenthood wrote in a statement. “Patient access and services were not impacted, and the health center opened for appointments as planned this morning.”
