Burien’s first homicide of 2017 is third in same alley

Just after 6 p.m. on an extremely frigid night, when multiple people called 911 after hearing multiple shots booming out of the alley between a small Burien shopping center and an apartment building, the scene was all too familiar for King County deputies.

In the alley on the 13700 block of Ambaum Boulevard Southwest, deputies found the body of a male in his late teens or early 20s. He was not only the first murder victim King County detectives investigated in 2017, detectives say it was also the third murder in this same spot in the last 12 months.

Detectives believe the shooting may have been gang-related. Deputies took three men into custody after they were seen running from the alley after the shooting.

Report: Wild, unauthorized parties common at site of fatal shooting in Redmond

“We don’t know if they’re suspects” said Sgt. Cindi West. “They could have been witnesses, even potential victims of whoever the shooter was.”

West pointed out layers of gang graffiti all over the walls of the area around where four shootings and three murders were reported here in the last 12 months. Some of the tagging happened in the last 48 hours, showing detectives a clear conflict which goes back for months.

KIRO 7 covered the murder of a 17-year-old in the same alley in January, 2016, and the murder of another 17-year-old in May.

“Basically it’s the same spot,” said West. “The same spot there between the apartments and the store (is where) young men are getting murdered.”

West wondered when — or if the violence here will stop.

“The way the world is, I don’t know if that’s going to happen,” she said.