Video captures brutal daylight beatdown in Seattle amid crime surge. The victim is reportedly still spitting up blood.



Surveillance video captured an assailant viciously attacking and robbing a man in broad daylight in Seattle, Washington, last month as critics argue the city has nowhere near enough police presence to crack down on soaring crime.

What happened?

The victim, a 22-year-old freelance photographer, was allegedly vacationing in the city when he was beaten unconscious and robbed while walking in the Mount Baker neighborhood. He is reportedly still suffering from severe injuries.

According to Seattle police, the attacker approached the photographer, known on social media as Caliber Visuals, at around 6 p.m. local time. The two appeared to shake hands before things unexpectedly turned violent.

"The suspect then threw the victim to the ground, stomped on him and kicked him repeatedly, knocking the victim unconscious. The suspect then rummaged through the victim's pockets and stole his wallet and keys before walking away," police reported.

NEW: A 22-year-old freelance photographer visiting Seattle was brutally beaten unconscious & robbed in the Mount Ba… https://t.co/vzvpQjy7XW

— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) 1628460231.0

Police added that a bystander later came to the victim's aid by alerting authorities. After medics arrived at the scene, the victim was transported to the hospital, where "he received treatment for head trauma and significant injuries to his face."

In a post on a GoFundMe page he started, the victim claimed that he suffered a brain hemorrhage and a fractured left eye during the assault. He added that four days after the attack he was still "spitting up blood."

The assailant reportedly stole the victim's cell phone, wallet, $900 in cash, and car keys that cost several hundred dollars to replace.

Police are looking for help identifying the attacker, whom they describe as a "Black male, 5'10", 180 lbs., with a medium build."

What else?

Conservative Seattle talk radio host Jason Rantz argued that brazen attacks such as the one against the freelance photographer are becoming more prevalent amid the city's crime surge and defund the police movement.

"Mount Baker is known to have a crime issue, but the city doesn't have enough police to proactively walk, drive, or bike around neighborhoods as a deterrent," Rantz noted in an opinion piece about the attack.

Last month, a couple in Seattle was attacked and beaten with a machete, rocks, and a 5-foot wooden pole while attempting to retrieve stolen items from a homeless encampment. Following that attack, Rantz claimed that police in the city are being prevented from monitoring homeless camps.

A worker near the scene of the latest attack argued that police are being hamstrung and consequently criminals are becoming emboldened.

"It's disheartening to watch this happen around our city, and nothing's being done about it," the worker told KIRO-TV. "It's been going on for years, and it seems to be the city council has let this continue to happen."

"We're tired of this," he added. "There's no reason we should be walking around in fear."

Couple attacked with machete, rocks, and 5-foot wooden pole while retrieving stolen goods from Seattle homeless camp. As they tried to get away, they hit and killed a man.



A couple with a young toddler was attacked and a man was killed during a chaotic incident at a Seattle-area homeless encampment last week.

The news comes alongside a report from Washington state radio host Jason Rantz that Seattle police are being prevented from monitoring homeless encampments in the city due to ongoing alternative policing initiatives.

According to KIRO-TV, law enforcement first responded to the scene on July 27 about 3 p.m. following reports of a hit-and-run near a large South Lake Union tent encampment.

After arriving at the scene and conducting an investigation, police discovered that the couple — who was with their 2-year-old son at the time — had driven to the camp to retrieve items recently stolen from their car, including shoes and a bluetooth speaker.

But when the couple arrived, a crowd descended on them with makeshift weapons such as a machete, rocks, and sticks. Surveillance footage even reportedly shows one man striking the driver in the back with a 5-foot-long wooden pole. Here's more from KIRO:

Police said the couple was immediately attacked by several people in the camp. The driver was seen on surveillance video being hit in the back with a 5-foot wooden pole, while another man attacked the driver and smashed the windows of the car with a machete, according to prosecutors. More people from the encampment joined the fight with rocks and sticks, and police said a woman from the camp began fighting with the female passenger of the car.

During the ambush, the driver desperately tried to get away and proceeded to speed through the crowd. In doing so, he allegedly struck and killed a 20-year-old man who had joined the group surrounding the vehicle.

One witness, a nearby business owner, confirmed the details of the incident to reporters.

"It was a car being attacked, being surrounded by people from this encampment and they were bashing the car to pieces with bars, sticks, whatever they had," he recalled. "Then the car made a run for it to break through this crowd."

"One of the guys who was surrounding the car got thrown up into the air and then run over by this vehicle," he said.

KIRO reported that Seattle police arrested the two men who allegedly attacked the couple with a machete and a wooden pole. John Henry Rosser IV, 39, and Mario J. Miller, 53, lived at the encampment and reportedly have lengthy criminal rap sheets.

"Miller is a 12-time felon in Washington and California, and Rosser is a nine-time felon," the outlet noted.

Prosecutors are not expected to charge the couple for running over and killing the man. Rosser and Miller are to be arraigned on Aug. 18.

Woman pepper-sprays maskless mom and child over COVID-19 fears: Report



Authorities arrested a 32-year-old woman after she reportedly pepper-sprayed a woman and her child while the three rode in an elevator Monday, the Seattle Times reported.

The woman and her child, according to reports, were not wearing masks, which is said to have prompted the response from the 32-year-old suspect, who claims to be in a "high-risk category" for COVID-19-related illness.

What are the details?

Officers responded Monday afternoon to Pike Place Market for a report of assault, where they found the unnamed suspect, who was reportedly "pushing a stroller containing a bottle of bleach and carrying a can of pepper spray."

The suspect reportedly told police that she sprayed the victim out of COVID-19 fears.

KIRO-TV reported that the suspect — identified by KOMO-TV as Czarina Lee Slape — told investigators that the woman was "yelling at her" in the elevator, and so she took out the pepper spray and "accidentally" sprayed the woman and her child.

The King County Prosecutor's Office also reported that Slape insisted she was defending herself because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Newsweek report, authorities were able to arrest Slape and take her into custody without incident. She was booked into King County Jail on felony charges of assault and assault of a child and is being held on a $1,000 bond.

Seattle Fire Department first responders treated the adult and child victims at the scene.

The adult victim told authorities that she and her child were riding in an elevator with the woman when the suspect reportedly began swearing to herself.

When she asked Slape if everything was OK, the suspect then reportedly told the victim, "If you talk to me again I'm going to mace you."

KOMO reported that the victim reportedly responded by telling Slape that she and her son would have to pass Slape to get off the elevator, which reportedly prompted Slape to pull out a can of pepper spray and fire it at the victims.

The mother, according to the station, admitted to hitting Slape following the attack before the suspect fled from the elevator.

Casey McNerthy, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecutor's Office, told the station, "We understand that people are concerned about the [Delta] variant, but you can't attack people who aren't wearing a mask."

The station reported that Slape has an "extensive criminal history," including at least 21 other arrests ranging from disorderly conduct to theft.