Man arrested following deadly light rail stabbing of beloved Seattle chef

For the second time this year, someone has been killed at a Link light rail station. The latest happened Saturday, just before 6 p.m. The victim was a 37-year-old man and a chef at Harry’s Fine Foods on Capitol Hill.

Witnesses told police the chef got into a fight with two men that quickly resulted in the man being stabbed several times. He died a short time later.

On Monday, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) reported a 26-year-old man was arrested in connection to the stabbing. The U.S. Marshals task force arrested the man in Eatonville. He was booked into the King County Jail on investigation of murder.

“You don’t know what people are carrying. You don’t know what mind frame they’re in and what type of attitude they’re in at the moment. People are just full of anger and rage,” light rail passenger DeAngelo McClellan told KIRO Newsradio.

Harry’s made the decision to close its doors on Mother’s Day. The restaurant was closed again on Monday. The plan is to support workers and reopen at a later date.

According to KIRO 7, the chef’s death is being felt by Seattle’s close-knit restaurant community.

“We’re all connected, somehow,” Shea Bigger, a local bar server told KIRO 7. “We all have mutual friends. So, it does, you know, you feel it.”

Back at the light rail station, passengers are calling for more security.

“More security presence on the trains, on the platforms, where all the heavy traffic is,” light rail passenger George Alvarez told KIRO Newsradio.

Sound Transit said attacks like this are extremely rare and the trains are very safe. Still, passenger and driver security is top of mind, and security upgrades are happening all the time.

“We have almost 500 security officers available to us, more than double the number that we had in place in 2022. Folks will be seeing an increased presence of security officers on the train because we want to reassure riders that riding the trains are safe,” Sound Transit spokesman John Gallagher told KIRO Newsradio.

Gallagher also said if you see something you can easily call or text Sound Transit security for help.

“If people see anything that makes them uncomfortable, or they feel is suspicious they should call or text our security and that number is 206-398-5268,” Gallagher said.

If you’re a regular rider, it might be a good idea to lock the number into your phone so it will be readily accessible should you ever need it.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest

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