A brutal attack caught on cellphone video has rattled a West Seattle neighborhood.
A brutal attack caught on cellphone video has rattled a West Seattle neighborhood, where residents say they are used to a busy, generally safe area with people coming and going.
Police said the attack happened Thursday and that no arrests have been made. Investigators said the suspects stole the woman’s cellphone and are searching for the men seen in the video.
The video was recorded by a neighbor who asked not to be identified. She told KOMO News she saw a man punch a woman so hard it knocked her to the ground, prompting her to start recording.
Drew, who lives and works in one of the nearby apartment buildings, described the assault as extreme.
“We are talking kicking, stomping," Drew said. "It was a whole thing."
The video shows four men, some wearing masks, surrounding the woman while she was down and attacking her.
The victim told police she was kicked in the head twice and suffered a large cut on the back of her head and severe bruising on her forehead, among other injuries.
Police said the victim is 51 years old and was walking to her car around 6 p.m. Thursday—while it was still light out—in an area surrounded by apartment buildings and businesses.
Police said one of the suspects yelled, “Hey, that’s my phone," according to the victim.
The witness video also appears to match what a police report described: one suspect stomped on the victim, walked away, then came back and appears to stomp again. Some of the attack was blocked by a sign and foliage in the footage.
“That was a beating," said Drew. "It was a whole other level of violence that wasn’t cool. We are talking kicking on the ground and everything. It was rough."
Drew said he showed up on scene after police arrived. He was stunned the victim got in her car and drove herself to an urgent care clinic.
Officers found the woman at the clinic a short time later as she was being treated by Seattle Fire Department personnel.
The victim told police the suspects took her cellphone and fled in a white Honda Accord with no license plate.
Police are looking for the four suspects and the driver and hope the video will help lead to arrests.
Residents said the violence was shocking for the area.
“That stuff just doesn’t happen in West Seattle like that," Drew said. "It was a weird act of violence, one that was super disturbing."
"My apartment overlooks this parking lot, and I walk through it multiple times a day, and I’ve never felt unsafe," said Troy Nelson, another neighbor. "Especially something like that happening before it's dark, that is really scary."
"Hopefully, somebody got some video," Nelson added. "[And that] it leads to them figuring out who it was, because that's ridiculous."
Drew's girlfriend Emma, who also lives in an apartment building and walks her dogs daily in the same area, called the attack disturbing.
“It’s gross," Emma said. "It’s just so gross, as like a single woman on the street, walking."
"It wasn’t an insane hour of night; she wasn’t doing anything wrong," Emma added. "So I live here, across the street. I take the dogs out; I take walks all the time, and to think you could be just minding your business and four men come out of nowhere and beat you to the ground is insane to me."
Police said the victim did not know her attackers.
Investigators are looking for additional surveillance video and are asking anyone who recognizes the suspects to call police at 206-233-5000.
