Three stabbed near Pike Place Market Three men taken into custody; one identified by witness

Three men were rushed to Harborview Medical Center -- one with life-threatening injuries -- after they were stabbed Wednesday night at Victor Steinbrueck Park near Pike Place Market, police said.

About 7:45 p.m., officers were called to the intersection of Western Avenue and Virginia Street. Blood was washed away from the park and from an area across the street. Police also blocked off an area at First Avenue and Pine Street.

Police said first-arriving officers at the stabbing scene received conflicting information about the incident. One of the stabbing victims was 19 and the two others were 20, according to fire officials.

"Officers started aggressively combing the area," Detective Jeff Kappel said. "With what little information they had they developed more information and were also able to find a witness who had a better description of the suspects."

Three men were detained at Eighth Avenue and Pine Street, about a block from the Paramount Theater. One of those men, 44, also was interviewed by Department of Corrections officers and arrested for violating conditions imposed in a previous case. A knife and screwdriver was recovered from that man, Kappel said.

Another man, 35, was arrested for an escape warrant and violating DOC conditions.

The third man, 35, was identified by at least one witness as being involved in the stabbing. As that man was detained in a parking lot, he complained of pain. Investigators said he had suffered non-life-threatening cuts.

Medics evaluated him at apprehension site, and he was transported to Harborview Medical Center. The man was under police guard there and was expected to be booked into King County Jail upon his release.

The brother of one of the victims said he witnessed the stabbings and wanted to give a statement at Harborview Medical Center, according to police.

The specific conditions of the victims were not available late Wednesday night.

A crowd of about three dozen gathered to watch the large police response near the Pike Place Market, and several Nebraska football fans in town for Saturday's game against the University of Washington gathered at Eighth and Pine as a crowd of several dozen more watched the suspects being taken into custody.

Kappel did not speculate on the motivation for the stabbings.

It was not immediately clear if the incident started at Steinbrueck Park. However, the park has been a source of neighbor complaints for years.

The park has been part of Seattle's most crime-ridden census tract since 1985, when it was renamed for Market preservationist Victor Steinbrueck, the father of former City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck.

A 2007 Seattle P-I analysis of police reports from 1989 to 2006 showed there were no homicides in Steinbrueck Park, and the majority of incidents were non-serious felonies or misdemeanors. The analysis checked incidents reported in the 1900 and 2000 blocks of Western Avenue.

Police said those numbers were consistently high because the densely populated tract includes parts of First, Second and Third avenues. Neighbors in 2007 also blamed downtown homeless shelters and day-labor organizations.

In September 2007, 13 new lights were installed in an effort to reduce crime, though some neighbors have still expressed concern.

However, aid calls and reported crime have dropped significantly in downtown parks after park rangers began patrols, according to a 2010 Seattle Parks and Recreation.

The report says 911 calls and police reports in 10 downtown parks dropped by more than 70 percent from 2007 to 2009. Aid calls dropped by 18 percent in the same time period. In addition to creating ranger patrols two years ago, the city has lavished attention on refreshing such parks as Victor Steinbrueck, Occidental and Westlake with buskers, concert series, outdoor movies, salsa dancing and bocce ball.