Seattle, WA. – A former University of Washington student believes the man who broke into a U-District home over the weekend and fatally shot a student is the same person who has targeted his home multiple times this year.
KIRO 7 is not sharing the identity of this former student, but when he saw the photos of the alleged suspect, he felt there was a similarity.
“But when I heard on Sunday what happened, I was like, ‘Wow! It’s just too bad,’” the former student said.
He told KIRO 7 he tried to break into his home twice. Once at the end of May, then again in July almost exactly two months later. He said the first time it happened was on May 27, the person tried to break in multiple times over several hours. He said when this person tried to reach out the window, he yelled at the person to leave.
“But you can tell from the video that he seems to reach one of our balcony windows. And I was watching it live and I screamed. I don’t know if it’s secure or not,” she said.
“But since the incident in May, all my roommates have slept with our doors locked,” she said.
The man allegedly shrugged it off, then ran away. Then in July, she said the same man returned, going through their mailbox, as well as trying to break through the home’s windows.
“And this guy was just checking all our doors. Like a lot of times, and looking in the windows and stuff,” he said.
She said the whole experience was worrying for her and her roommates. They also believe this alleged prowler has also targeted other homes in the U-District.
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“He seemed so uptight about our house and us being 15 young women living in the same house, that was very creepy to us,” she said.
They told KIRO 7 they filed a police report on the incident in July, but have not heard back from the police. Seattle Police could not confirm if Sunday’s prowler was the same person, but they told KIRO7 people believe he sent them more photos and videos.
“At least to me, it’s obviously connected,” said the former student.
KIRO 7 also reached out to the University of Washington about what plans they have to address safety. A spokesperson sent this statement:
“UWPD remains in regular contact with Seattle PD regarding the response to the recent violence in the U District, and we are grateful that students living in the area are assisting police in identifying the suspect in the sexual assault home invasion that took place Sunday morning. Sally Clark, our interim Vice President for Campus Community Safety, met Tuesday night with chapter presidents in the Greek system to hear directly from them about their concerns and share information about the response of UW and SPD efforts. Again, we are grateful for SPD’s response and emphasis on patrols in the area and we hope to find the suspect soon.”
As the former student moved out of the neighborhood, they were concerned for everyone’s safety.
“I definitely think it’s scary to be a woman in the U-District right now,” she said.