A notorious Seattle drug camp could be getting shut down today. It’s right next to Lake Washington Girls Middle School and it’s turned into a chop shop full of stolen bikes and motorcycles. But it’s taken months for the city to respond and neighbors say this is unacceptable.
For nearly two months complaints have been pouring into the city about open-air drug use, warming fires, and trash overwhelming several streets in Beacon Hill.
Most of the chaos is coming from this encampment at the corner of 22nd Ave South and South Walker Street.
A notorious hot spot for broken RVs, tents, and all kinds of illegal activity.
When I point out a black Hyundai, one local tells me, “That’s a car I’ve seen dealing drugs to these encampments.”
“So, that’s the drug dealer?” I ask.
“Just one of them,” he tells me.
It’s also right across the street from Lake Washington Girls Middle School.
Look at this line of frustrated parents who have to pick up their kids next to addicts smoking crack and fentanyl.
“They line up right next to this encampment where we just saw a drug dealer,” I observe. “This is absolutely nuts.”
“It’s tough for everybody because some of the kids walk back home from here,” says parent Chris Wood.
“It just started one tent at a time,” explains one bus driver.
School workers say they’re shocked the city has ignored this encampment for weeks.
“Now it’s become this little village thingy,” the bus driver continues.
Another bus driver complains of having to smell smoke.
“Fentanyl smoke?” I ask.
“Well, they smoke crack over there,” the first bus driver says.
And look what else is in this encampment: all kinds of stolen property including this motorcycle.
“How many people do you estimate live in this encampment?” I ask one neighbor.
“At least twenty,” he responds.
This neighbor is the one who reported it to police, but wants to remain anonymous since he’s concerned about retaliation.
“We’ve been calling the cops non-emergency, and we’ve been waiting multiple hours, and they still have yet to show up.”
Several officers eventually did come by to confiscate it from the person living in this tent.
As for this mayhem, this woman says a sweep will likely happen Wednesday morning.
“Has the city been responsive or not?” I ask the anonymous neighbor.
“No,” he tells me.
But neighbors say it’s too little too late. And they’re afraid all of this will simply move to a nearby street.
“This whole Beacon Hill area continues to be a mess,” I comment.
“It’s the Seattle sewer,” says the anonymous neighbor.
