Posted by AbrahamKalashnikov at 10/19/07 10:13 p.m.

Were Craig Hoffman's murderers "aspiring rappers"????

Posted by AbrahamKalashnikov at 10/19/07 10:16 p.m.

Typical Seattle BS. Complain when police try to do their jobs, and then complain when they are not there because you complained when they showed up!

Posted by unregistered user at 10/20/07 7:16 a.m.

To deter further crimes like this (and other types), let's make sure we prosecute these young people as adults. Is the community and the city/county (law enforcement) working together to reduce crime in their neighborhood? Let's not place blame on our law enforcement folks (or government for that matter), it starts at home... darrell

Posted by unregistered user at 10/20/07 3:26 p.m.

I live just north of White Center, and many of my neighbors' houses have been broken into. The perpetrators, if caught, are almost always kids. Police release them immediately to their parents -- no legal ramifications at all. I'm sure law enforcement officers are as frustrated about this as we are. Something needs to change or more tragedies like this will occur.

Posted by unregistered user at 10/20/07 9:11 p.m.

[Were Craig Hoffman's murderers "aspiring rappers"????]

I don't know but there is obviously a problem it was impossible for the media to describe the purpetrators other than "wearing puffy black jackets".

Brian Alexander and Jennifer Sullivan of the Seattle Times smeared the victim royally by going into detail regarding some mistakes he made in his past. It reminds me of the way that Nicole Brodeur smeared the victims of the "Fat Tuesday" riots and insinuated they had it coming.

Posted by AbrahamKalashnikov at 10/20/07 9:18 p.m.

I just find it fascinating that the PI & other "news sources" go out of their way do describe the clothes the murderers were wearing, something they can change in seconds simply by removing their "puffy black jackets", BUT the PI does not describe the one thing they cannot ever change, their RACE. I think the RACE of ALL AT-LARGE suspects should be revealed, whether they are white, black, asian, purple, whatever. It is a matter of public safety.

Posted by parfait4congress08 at 10/20/07 9:43 p.m.

People had better wise up and fast or there is a chaos coming that will take a LOT to overcome, perhaps more than we are willing to bare. What do we expect when our teachers tell our children they can't pray in school, our government extols pagan worship (winter trees, etc) and teachers and other leaders tell us that there are no absolutes and we are just animals. Then we have movies and TV series romanticizing serial killers. What do we expect? Oh, and let's not forget to mention our leaders that chastise America and get green cards for convicted terrorists (McDermott). What do we expect? Better get smart people. We don't have forever.

http://parfait4congress.googlepages.com/home

Posted by vegemite at 10/21/07 6:22 a.m.

I grew up in White Center, all though I no longer live there. It makes me really sad to see these things happen. White Center is a fantastic community, and I mean community. Other places I have lived (and live now) do not have that sense of community that White Center enjoys. Yes, the crime is bad, the gangs are a problem, they have race issues. But the people of White Center are committed to their community. They need help, not criticism! And since Seattle crime is what is spilling into White Center (unincorporated), the city of Seattle should offer some assistance! Annexing White Center is not the answer, they will be forgotten forever if that happens. We're not going to get Steve Cox back (his loss is the worst thing that could happen to White Center) so who is going to step up and try to fill his shoes? It might take several people, but is anybody willing to try?

Posted by cincytom at 10/21/07 12:53 p.m.

vegemite, your story is a good one. I've lived in Columbus (Ohio), rural-central Ohio, Renton, and now in Cincinnati. Until now I've never felt the community spirit. We've had some good officers who knew everyone on the streets but lately the good officers have been pulled into a special force called Vortex. Vortex is doing a good job in attacking hot spots around Cincinnati but we sorely miss the beat officers who didn't hesitate busting up groups of young loiterers or patting down those who were often in trouble with the law. You cannot beat a good officer who will both befriend the neighborhood as well as intimidate the bad guys. However, it's much more important for the community to come together against blight and crime.

Unfortunately as it is here, the community activists are getting older and less active. There just doesn't seem to be the same spirit among the younger folks. Furthermore, a lot of the older folks have moved out being displaced by single moms with lots of kids and boyfriends doing bad things from their homes. Robberies, assaults, and burglaries are on the rise. Juvenile crime is rising proportionately. It's bad but I and others intend on standing our ground and doing what we can to keep it sane.

Posted by rattus turpis at 10/21/07 1:01 p.m.

Have things changed since the present Seattle mayor was the county councilman who represented that district when he was on the county council? Also don't forget the Seattle Policeman who was murdered about 30 years ago in White Center when officers went through the door of the house where a suspect had fled. What are the political leaders, the Seattle mayor (forget the City Council) and the County councilperson who represents that district, doing to improve the conditions of a community that affects it on both sides of the border? They are the people who we vote for and rely upon to develop, approve and fund programs to improve our communities. Could it be that their job descriptions need to be modified especially when it comes to jurisdictional issues? Hopefully Global Greening and Rapid Transit can be put on hold temporarily while attempts are made to take care of local problems (not "issues") that have a more direct impact on the community. The media could be considered as a catalyst to improvements as well rather than prioritizing their stories about the crime problems. When was the last time you ever heard anything good about the White Center Community that caused you to take time to read? Could it be that is all that interests us? Hopefully the County Executive can extend the King Stats program into White Center to achieve the same results he has gained from one of his other Departments where it was used. It's ironic that the concept of the Stats program was created by law enforcement and of course after proving its merit was soon adopted by politicians. But then do we really care who gets the credit as long as it works?

Posted by just great at 10/21/07 7:22 p.m.

Once again the teens of some unfit parents ruin someone's life. These teens are obviously living a certain lifestyle that shows no respect for anyone or their property. Im sure the teens parents have wonderfull things to say, but what do their teachers have to say about the teens such as classroom disruptive behavior? In the past week their was a teen in Pilchuck who robbed a bank with a gun, a 10 yr. old in Oregon caught with a handgun at school, teen girls shot with a BB gun on I90 by other teens and a month ago a Tacoma Officer was severly beaten by teen taggers. Instead of looking at race as a factor, why not look at their behavior and the lifestyle teens fall into as an indicator for possilby being harmfull to others?! All races commit crimes and it may be higher in inner cities, but teenage behavior is one thing that can be relied upon to determine how/if a person may be on the wrong path. AND ITS THE PARENTS JOB TO FIND IT BEFORE THE POLICE!

Posted by buz13 at 10/22/07 4:28 a.m.

I live just north of White Center and know its reputation well. However I like the neighborhood and its diversity.
So I do quite a bit of shopping there. It definitely has its seedier elements. I was walking down 16th on a walk back from dropping off my motorcycle on 1st Ave S. and only one person during the walk that took me through all of White Center from south to north stopped to ask me a question....it was a young man with a large boom box...He wanted to know if I could direct him to a pawn shop...
Yep..that's White Center...you gotta love it!

Posted by pamfell at 10/22/07 9:31 a.m.

I grew up in White Center, moved away for a couple years, and am now back.
I'm appalled at the changes. I live one block from 'downtown' White Center. In the 2 months since I've moved in I've had my lawn mower stolen, my windchimes ripped down and broken, my house broken into (while my husband was home), my halloween decor stolen from my yard and my dining room window busted out!

Police fill out reports and thats it, nothing is done other than that. Next week we are installing closed circuit cameras on each corner of the house.

Posted by unregistered user at 10/22/07 10:00 p.m.

I think it is ironic that everyone is assuming the race of the shooter. Aspiring rapper?!?! The kid is white. He and his friends have been running around with baseball bats for months. WE call the police, and nothing happens. So when his parents say "We had no idea, they are full of it. the entire neighborhood knew he was a criminal waiting to blossom. He should go to jail, but the parents should go right along with him.

Posted by AbrahamKalashnikov at 10/23/07 12:39 a.m.

you can be white and still be an "aspiring rapper"

Posted by unregistered user at 11/21/07 4:20 p.m.

You can be white and an aspiring rapper, that was really stupid for you to say. His parents are actually good people, US teenagers don't like listen to our parents. I know his parents and they try to be there for him and such, but he just doesn't like to listen or is never home. So, Don't blame his parents. He was raised good, he just fell into the wrong group of friends and made bad choices cause he looked up to the wrong person. The kid he looked up to was a dealer and did bad sh*t to get on top of the "game".