Customers evacuate Seattle business after people smoke drugs inside bathroom for nearly an hour
Feb 20, 2024, 8:54 AM
SEATTLE — Customers were forced to evacuate a Seattle business after people were caught smoking drugs inside a bathroom for nearly an hour, police said.
INVESTIGATION:
Seattle police told KIRO 7 that officers were called to a business on Aurora Avenue North Sunday after 2 p.m.
Staff members told police that two people were smoking drugs inside a bathroom for about 40 minutes.
A spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department said firefighters responded to the parking lot of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, located at the corner of Aurora Avenue North and North 125th Street, to help police.
Customers were forced to evacuate the business because of the drug’s fumes, police said.
Police were able to find one of the suspects as she was boarding a bus at a nearby bus stop. Police stopped her and learned she had a warrant. The woman told police she had been assaulted and was later evaluated by the Seattle Fire Department.
A spokesperson for the fire department said crews treated a 28-year-old woman, who was last listed in stable condition.
KIRO 7 asked police if the incident happened inside Krispy Kreme. A spokesperson did not share details.
Police did not share any details about the second suspect.
KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS:
KIRO 7 went inside Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and found two restrooms, located to the right of the front entrance, each with its own keypad.
We spoke with two workers at Krispy Kreme.
A worker told KIRO 7 that the restrooms require a key to unlock the doors, despite having keypads, however, someone stole the key.
KIRO 7 later asked a second worker about the alleged incident inside their bathroom.
“I cannot confirm it and I can’t deny it,” the worker said.
The worker said they were advised not to talk with KIRO 7.
KIRO 7 had reached out to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts to get further details, including if the company is helping any customers who may have been affected by the fumes of the deadly drug, along with its response.
We’re still waiting to hear back.
KIRO 7 saw customers shopping inside the business on Monday. We did not see any signs on its building indicating the alleged incident inside its restroom.
NEARBY BUSINESSES FACING SIMILAR ISSUES:
KIRO 7 also spoke with several people who work in the area to understand how drug use is affecting small businesses nearby.
Nicole Kummer, who works in the area, said she has been working along Aurora Avenue North for about eight months.
“It’s a daily occurrence,” she said. “We have people who like to hide in the corner where Subway used to be. They do drugs there. They defecate there.”
She said the issue has been getting worse over the months.
“We had people actively smoking drugs in front of the shop,” she said. “My daughter was out of school last week, and we had a lady smoke fentanyl in front of our shop doors. So my 7-year-old is now exposed to someone smoking fentanyl.”
Kummer shared a photo that she said her surveillance camera had captured of two people smoking fentanyl in front of her business Sunday night.
“For the most part, there’s a lot of yelling and it’s a lot of drug use and it’s really uncomfortable to sit in our shop and be exposed to that,” she said. ”We have a fully automated locking door now. I have to tap a button to let you in just because we had instances of people coming in with ill intentions.”
During our interview with Kummer, KIRO 7 witnessed what Kummer had shared with us.
A random man approached us out of nowhere and began yelling at us with statements not related to the story.
Kummer said her customers have been feeling uneasy, which is affecting her business.
“There’s probably people who won’t return because of their experience,” she said. “Every client that has grown up in this area, definitely comes in and recognizing this area is not the same.”
KIRO 7 also spoke with Mirda Awais, manager of the 76 gas station, along Aurora Avenue North.
He has worked at the gas station for more than two decades.
Awais said he no longer allows customers to use his business’s restroom due to the increase in drug use and to keep his workers safe.
“People buy from us and they come outside and right away they start to smoke drugs,” he said. “We’re losing our business.”
He continued, “Good customer here, you know, they don’t’ want to come here. This is the reason.”
The manager at 125th Street Grill & Bar showed KIRO 7 several pieces of used foil left behind by people who are using drugs, along with needles, in her parking lot.
We also spoke with Hollis Huston, who was cleaning up along Aurora Avenue North, near the manager’s business Monday.
“We see a lot of foil, fentanyl foil is what we call it, and it’s just everywhere around here,” he said. “We see it pretty much everywhere. And you see people smoking it at the different bus stops along here. It’s pretty prevalent.”
Huston said he has been cleaning up along Aurora Avenue North for the past couple of days.
“We all live and share the same community,” he said. “So I mean, it’s obviously not being cleaned right now, and it’s pretty much on a downward spiral right now.”
