At half past 8 p.m. on a dark and chilly March evening in Lynnwood, Washington, Guamar Lual wished that time would crawl just a little bit faster. As he dutifully mopped the Subway floor he heard the ding-dong automated chime of the door, signifying another customer. While he continued to mop, Lual noticed the two customers were wearing hoodies and face masks, and that one of the customers had what looked like a star-shaped facial tattoo. Despite being suspicious, Lual held his tongue since the Covid-19 pandemic was still fresh in his mind. Recently, it had not been uncommon for him to see many customers come in with masks.
After the chime Lual’s coworker appeared from the back of the store to take the pair’s order. After ordering a bottle of juice and a cookie, Lual’s coworker was greeted with a threat after opening the till, “I’m armed, give me everything in the register.”
Nobody was hurt that night, as Lual and the other unnamed Subway employee both did exactly as protocol directed and surrendered the cash. A grand total of $300 was taken, an amount the robbers deemed worthy of risking not only their lives, but also the lives of everyone in the store.
When asked about the frequency of such an event, Lual expressed his surprise that crime would rear its ugly head so far north of a big city like Seattle.
“Yeah, I knew about things like this happening in other places… y’know, like, downtown Seattle. Edmonds, though, I didn’t realize that this was the hood too, right?”
Many residents of the greater Seattle area echo Luals sentiments. People are confused and saddened by the steadily increasing cases of crime.
Recently, another business was targeted. This time, a small Greek market a few doors down from Lual’s Subway, had their ATM stolen overnight by a trio of thieves. The thieves rammed a stolen truck through the market’s front door, stealing $600 from an ATM and causing $80,000 in damages. Prior to this, on the same street, a high-schooler was injured during a drive-by shooting.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the nationwide controversy surrounding the murder of George Floyd, and the subsequent increase in the distrust of police officers, local crime began to fluctuate significantly.
During quarantine significant decreases in crimes were seen, with the exception of murder and assault which increased, as many people stayed indoors.
After multiple incidents that called police authority into question including; the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the 2022 Uvalde Shooting, and numerous unjustified incidents of extreme violence, police staffing, particularly in areas where police support is extremely low, has seen a massive decline.
According to a recent article written by Amanda Zhou and published in the Seattle Times, “Officials saw most violent crime slowly trend downward the first half of 2023, dropping from a high point during the height of the pandemic.”
Despite this reported downward trend, Seattle still maintains higher average crime rates than in 2021. In the meantime, police staffing continues to drop, as “the number of officers decreased by 70 to around 10,600 officers statewide… putting Washington at the 51st-lowest rate among all U.S. states and Washington, D.C.”
This massive lack of police force coinciding with the increased crime from the pandemic could not have come at a worse time.
Citizens of multiple cities in the greater Seattle area have expressed concern over this increase in crime and decrease of police protection, Lual included. A concerned customer spoke up while I was discussing my experiences of criminal activity with Lual at the Subway.
“I’ve raised multiple children in Edmonds, put them through the public school system, and never felt like I had to worry… until now, that is.” She referenced a recent shooting from a few streets over, occurring only a few weeks after the Subway robbery. “The drive by shooting over on 76th was a new low. I see it all the time on the news now, and it’s getting me worried about the safety of my youngest. We’re literally the only country where this ever happens to this absurd extent, and it’s happening on a scale that I simply can’t ignore anymore.”
