Seattle McDonald’s Becomes a Scapegoat Around Recent Downtown Violence | Eater Seattle

"Located at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle, the McDonald’s was the site of a January 22 mass shooting that killed one woman and injured seven others, including a 9-year-old boy, an event that has unnerved the city and sparked calls—from some on social media, talk radio, and opinion pages—to tear down what critics call an “open-air drug market.” I noted that Greg Smith, CEO of Urban Visions, went so far as to suggest condemning the restaurant and replacing it with a police precinct (a proposal Mayor Jenny Durkan has pushed back on). While the corner has a history of violent incidents—including a shooting four years earlier that wounded five people and a 2018 attack with a hatchet—Seattle Police say violent crime in the city was down overall in 2019 and precinct-specific data for this block is unavailable, and there’s little evidence directly linking this McDonald’s to the surrounding crime; advocates point out that razing one business won’t solve systemic problems. Local voices such as Angela Dunleavy-Stowell of Farestart and the Public Defender Association argue for addressing housing, addiction, mental-health needs and using targeted programs like the LEAD diversion effort, rather than simply closing the restaurant. The site’s owner, David Santillanes, announced he will donate $20,000 to the seven surviving victims (about $2,857 each) and said he hopes to help the community recover." - Gabe Guarente