Four suspects escape after crashing carjacked vehicle

Four armed suspects are on the loose after they carjacked a woman’s Subaru in the University District at gunpoint early Friday morning.

Police say just before 1:30 a.m., four suspects approached a 35-year-old woman in a Subaru Forester on 22^nd Northeast near Ravenna Park.

They wore masks and black beanies.

She told police one pointed a gun at her chest and another pointed a gun at her side.

Police say she was not physically harmed, but obviously shaken up.

Officers immediately launched a search for her car.

Police spotted the stolen Subaru on southbound I-5 and they started chasing it.

The suspects refused to stop and led officers on a lengthy pursuit that ended in Burien.

The suspects eventually crashed in Burien on 4th Avenue Southwest and Southwest 130th Street, near Hazel Valley Elementary School.

Then all four suspects ran away on foot.

Officers did a search of the area and deployed a Seattle Police K9 Patrol.

The King County Sheriff’s Guardian One helicopter assisted in the search.

But the suspects got away.

The four carjackers were all male and police believe they are all in their late teens or early 20s.

After towing the stolen Subaru to the Seattle Police Department’s North Precinct, officers processed the vehicle for evidence.

They found one handgun in the SUV.

Investigators are trying to figure out who owns the gun and whether it was stolen.

Detectives with the police department’s Robbery Unit is working to try identify the suspects.

If you have any information about the incident, investigators want you to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000.

The Seattle Police Department also released a series of steps to keep yourself safe, and to help prevent becoming a carjacking victim, no matter the location or the hour of the day.

Among the precautions they advise taking are:

1. Park your vehicle in well-lit areas.
2. If you sense danger, go back inside.
3. When possible, ask someone to accompany you as you walk to your vehicle.
4. Check your car from a distance.
5. Watch for anything suspicious going on around your vehicle.
6. Have your keys ready to use immediately.
7. Don’t give more attention to your phone than your surroundings.
8. Check your back seat before you get inside the vehicle.
9. Once inside, lock your doors immediately.
10. Look around your vehicle as you leave and check your mirrors before pulling away.