Photos by Aaron Wells
http://www.aaronwellsphotography.com

Shortly after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning (April 12), a shooting was reported at the AM/PM Mini Market on Ambaum Blvd. SW and SW 136th Street in Burien (map below).

Police received numerous 9-1-1 calls of shots being fired in that area, and when they arrived they found a man in the parking with at least one gunshot wound.

Medics attempted treatment but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives said the victim was at the store and appeared to be waiting for someone when at least two suspects approached the area and shot at him. The suspects then ran behind the store and jumped into an unknown vehicle and fled.

Detectives are investigating to see if this shooting is gang related or connected to the Federal Way and Seattle homicides that occurred within hours of this shooting.

Sgt. Cindi West told The B-Town Blog that the victim may have been waiting for someone around the side of the market, and that multiple suspects fired shots.

Police have video surveillance footage, which they have not yet released.

“This may be gang related, and we’re not sure if it’s related to other shootings in the area,” West added.

Police say that the victim was shot at least once.

No suspect information has been released, and no one has been arrested.

Founder/Publisher/Editor. Three-time National Emmy Award winning Writer (“Bill Nye the Science Guy”), Director, Producer, Journalist and more...

53 replies on “Man shot, killed near AM/PM Market on Ambaum early Wednesday morning”

  1. Anyone who doesn’t think crime in Burien is not out of control is simply not paying attention and/or in denial. We need leadership in this city that will address the crime issues on all fronts. Currently we do not have that leadership – but this November we will have a chance to change things, at least on the city council, by replacing Nancy Tosta and Lauren Berkowitz.

    1. Why do I get the impression that you consider any occurance of crime “out of control?”
      or that thowing more money at the police without a clear plan to use it (like maybe bringing back the gang unit), will be effective. Or that it might be possible to spend some of that over 50 percent of the city budget already for enforcement on something more effective?
      Rhetorical questions.
      It seems to me the response by the deputies was the best you could hope for–after the fact. They did their jobs.
      For some people nothing is apparently enough.

      1. Oneoff – if you think the regular occurrence of shooting, murders, robberies, etc. around Burien is “the best we can hope for” then I think you need to re-think your standards.

        I have loved ones who live within earshot of the mini mart where this latest shooting took place. I was shopping at the Walgreen’s 15 minutes before it was robbed last Monday. I am not sure where you’re living but I find the increasing commonplace of violent crimes in Burien disturbing. The lack of serious response from our leadership to address the crimes is also disturbing.

        1. I think you are so unfocused, your reading comprhension is near zero.
          You offer no constructive approaches to dealing with this, and you can’t see the forest for the trees. Putting ads on a newsletter blog is not a substitute for a plan.
          It is not just more police. Neighboorhoods and businesses need to address this directly themselves, in coordination with police.

          Complaining about politicians is not going to accomplish anything, because they are hamstrung by those who only can call for more unfocused taxation and then turn around and complain about high taxation…

          And I live within the report of a firearm at that AM/PM if I am outside. I am also armed and have an alarm system at my very modest home. Police come after the fact…At best they can deter, but not prevent anything.

          1. Does that make you feel better? When you fling nothing but insults, you have lost the arugment and any pretense of being interested in a serious and productive discussion. You have nothing constructive to say or offer to address this.
            Thanks for validating my assessment at least. Willfull ignorance and insults are not going to make this any better.

  2. Makes me wonder why AMPM would allow a business there any more??? Why would anyone work there?? Why would anyone shop there?? And for god sakes send their kid to the store, there?? When is it just too dangerous to even walk by a place that has so many incidents of crime??

    1. again, I really don’t think its an am/pm problem. Its an Alturas problem, always has been always will be. Oh wait, it was a Seahurst Manor, Seahurst Village, Vintage Park, Burien Gardens, or however many more names this place has been under, problem. Give it a little bit longer, they will change their name & paint like they do every few years as a result of all of the crime that goes on there.

      1. Exactly, it seems a new name wipes clean the internet search for crime data at the complex. Too many crimes associated with your apartment complex, change the name!

      2. Heather and Dogboy, go shop there if you like. I think it only makes sense to stay away from that AMPM.

        1. Hey Clean It Up……I do shop at that am/pm & have been probably longer than you have been a resident here in Burien.

          1. Heather, so were you around when I and others were riding horses around Burien? And going to Sunnydale School? That was before Sunny Terrace was built or tore down, before Puget Sound Jr High was tore down, Before Evergreen or Kennedy were built, before Sunset Jr High was built and tore down, before Glacier High school was built and tore down. You were around before all of that? When Burien was little more than a post office and feed store and our mailing address read ‘Seattle’. Our phone numbers were 4 digits with a Cherry or Logan prefix and many people were on party lines. You remember that don’t you? It was before AMPM’s or any such ‘quick stops’. Heck, it was before fast food drive ins. It was before I-5, before the Alaska Way via-duct, before any on-ramps, off-ramps. It was before any men in space. We were in a race with Russia and they were ahead with their Sputnik. The Smith Tower was our tallest building and we all heard the noon whistle from the Boeing plant and firehouses and the Slo Mo’s and other early hydros racing at Sea Fair.
            We had bad apples back then, too. Some were punks wearing DA (duck ass) haircuts and skinny belts and rat tail combs sticking out of their back pockets. Some were mafia want-a-bes and some were out right gangsters and union con men. But in general kids were made to stay in school until they graduated by their parents and fear of truant officers. Some girls went to Mexico for quick abortions and some did not survive. There were drugs, but not at all as prevalent as today. Most people had a healthy fear of them and past that fear on to their children. But, you remember all of that.

          2. Congratulations on being a resident of Burien for so long. Also for your age you seem tobe pretty good at using the computer or whatever device your using.

          3. Thanks Capt. O. – I learned pc use at the library from the kids doing their homework in 2000. I put my business online the following year and have been enjoying the benefits of what we used to call a ‘niche .com’ every since. A lot of what is said about aging is true. A lot is not. Something that has worked for me is challenging myself to learn something new and unfamiliar. It can be a basic understanding of a language or a dance step or plant botanical names, whatever floats your boat!. Getting comfortable with using pcs has helped greatly. It can help to keep a person current with everything that changes so fast. But, it can also be a time consumer! I don’t do most social media for that reason. Everything in moderation and all that.. BTW – The best advice I ever got was from my Glacier High history teacher – Mr. Jensen. One day when asked what was most important in the news, he replied, ” It’s all relative.” I knew that was right when I heard it and have been thankful to him every since.

          4. Next time you’re getting educated at the Library, Clean it up!, learn proper grammar, too. It’s “torn down,” not “TORE down . . . ” Oh, and “ever since,” not “EVERY since.”

          5. Your corrections are dually noted Kate BB. Thank you for taking the time to correct my grammar. It is appreciated.

          6. Stay safe Heather. Honestly that’s all I’m meaning by my comments about that AMPM location.

  3. From reading on some other blogs I found out that right now two gangs one in burien and one in south park are currently in a gang war with each other.

    So most likely this person that died was part of the burien gang and a crew from the south park gang drove by seen the guy and shot at him.

    So since these teenagers choose to join a gang get in a beef or fight with another gang. Where now when they see each other they shoot on the spot in burien white center Seattle federal way and so forth.

    I can’t understand how this is a burien city council members so and so fault. I have a feeling it more on the parents of these teenagers that for what reason let there children get involved in these gangs. If the parents would spend more teaching these kids right from wrong we would not have these issues. Now that can be a hard issue do to work and other activities but it needs to be done.

    But here on the b-town blog we have a few people that don’t seem to use common sense and want to blame members of the city council. Mostly members they did not vote for to begin with. So of course they must be the problem or it’s the homeless or bmx riding hoodlums. Anytime there is problem in burien they attack these things. Now yes there maybe a couple of homeless people that steal and yes there maybe a couple of kids or young adults on bikes that steal but not all of them.

    1. It should be obvious to you, capt obvious, there usually are no parents in the picture with
      these young people. No parent “lets” their child get involved with a gang, we are talking about kids who have no authority figure in their lives. And, they are not always teenagers, young adults are involved in gangs too.

      I don’t blame the police at all, they can only respond as fast as possible to any given situation. I do blame the city council and the mayor however, they are so involved in petty arguments and rules, they are not seeing the bigger problem here, a City of Burien problem. I feel that most of the members have lost focus of what they were elected to do.

      We, as citizens of Burien, put those people in office, we can vote them out.

      1. Some might not have both parents but that doesn’t mean they are automatically bad kids. They just need a little more attention. Then there’s some parents that are just not aware of what there child is really doing in life. Until they a call from school or the police.

    2. Capt. Obvious – you may have hit on something: the role of parents (specifically a mom **AND** a dad) in the moral formation / education of children. I would venture to guess that most of the gang members do not have fathers in their lives and /or their parents are themselves involved with drugs.

      1. I’m intrigued by the right bing commentary on why these crimes are happening. No parent interaction, sanctuary city status, not enough police on and on….
        What I never hear are ideas or solutions to help these young people!
        Being a single parent does not mean the child is destined to a life of crime (this is something I see on this blog a lot). I know many amazing young people that come from single parent homes, that are community, & academically minded. My own son is one of them.
        As for being a sanctuary city – crime existed before that ordinance and it will here long after.
        What, I personally am doing (and have been for a long time) is to work to find solutions and find ways to help get kids engaged. Reaching out to our greater community to see what supports they need rather than place supports that they won’t access.
        I work in a middle school and I work very hard to get my students and their families connected and engaged. That is the way you make change happen. Sitting on the blog pages, complaint does nothing! I challenge you to go out and be a change agent! Burien is an amazing community full of rich diversity!

        1. I so agree with what you are saying Jennifer! Raised by a mother who was orphaned at 12 and a father who was one of 11 children raised by his mother during the depression, I know very good people can be raised by a single parent! I wish people would open their hearts and minds to a bigger picture of what goes on and the wonderful possibilities available to all of us if we will only take a look around.
          The gang stuff must be very frightening for all parents, whether single or not, who know that the gangs lure and/or coerce kids into joining them. Anyone who is against the gangs needs to consider what they can do to support parents. I know it is hard to find time to volunteer but even a little help is better than no help. If nothing else let some kid mow your lawn for a few bucks or some such thing. Every interaction with someone ‘normal’ is a way of giving kids a way out of the mess they have to deal with everyday.
          Those who hear sanctuary city and think gangs are closing their eyes to the people who have come here from places of terror whichever country that may be. I was not for Burien becoming a sanctuary city only because I feared Trump for what he is turning out to be. As far as blaming every crime in Burien on unlawful aliens, homeless, or gangs, Wake Up Burien, we have some very devious good ole white people doing a majority of the crimes of theft, vandalism and out right cruelty.

        2. Jennifer,
          Well said. I’ve worked with kids who have no parent in the picture but are trying to make something of their lives that is positive. They clearly need and deserve help.
          Unfortunately, many on this blog find it easier to demonize at risk kids than to humanize them.

        3. Jennifer, it is pretty well documented that children born into single parent households are much more likely to have issues with money, education, and… crime. That is not to say that there are not individual cases where children from single parent cannot be successful – I was never making that claim.

          Its common sense that kids need a father and a mother to have the best chance in life. You think kids should stay in school and at least graduate from high school, right? Well – there are some people who became very successful even though they dropped out. Would you then conclude that high school is not necessary? etc.

          1. First, I’m an educator so yes, I believe education is very important. In fact I’m a college and career counselor so, my job is to help students plan for their future. I think it is important for young people to have positive role models in their life! I am a single parent and my son is well on his way to being a successful adult. I have friends whom are also single parents and their children are being raised well. So go ahead and document that!

          2. Well good for you for raising a son on his way to being a successful adult (and good for your friends that are doing the same). But that does nothing to help the thousands of kids for whom that is not true – for whom lack of a father (or a mother) has had a negative impact on their behavior and their lives. Its possible to say that some single parents raise successful children in spite of the circumstances. But its also okay to admit that fathers matter, and children do best in a two parent household (with a mother and father).

  4. Gangland again in Burien. Tosta & Berkowitz need to go – or figure out some way to get the gangs onto their streets. Once the threat hits home – I bet they will get much more interested.

    Burien was the talk of talk radio this morning. A host acknowledged Burien as the “go to” to area for displaced South Seattle crime.

  5. Give all the little gangbangers a AK-47, take them to Fort Lewis and tell them to have a blast. Punks.

  6. Anyone who voted for the ‘sanctuary city’ status needs to be replaced in November. Lauren Berkowitz, Nancy Tosta and Steve Armstrong. These people have shown that crime fighting in Burien is of no priority while the contrary is visible every single day.

    The ‘sanctuary city’ status will have Burien loose federal funding in crime fighting too.

    1. Actually the term sanctuary city and code being used by the president differ so we may loose some federal funding and we may not. This why the attorney general is suing the president about this.

      Also even those these are Spanish gangs fighting currently in burien and south park. I would take a guess most are born here. But unfortunately choose a life as gangster for what ever reason. It’s rather difficult to change out of life style with out ending up in a box or prison.

    2. The council supported the police policy in declaring Burien to be a “sanctuary city” because it improves their ability to fight crime and gangs. There is no evidence that being a “sanctuary city” increases crime, The police say just the opposite.
      Of course, solutions are complicated. It is much easier to blame someone you don’t like than deal with facts.

      1. Once you understand that solutions are complicated the first thing is to refrain from symbol politics and focus on real issues that need solutions.

        Most people know that the drugs in this country come through our southern border and why would you want to allow this in your town to send a message to a President that you don’t like.

        We expect from our council members that they put the safety and quality of life of Burien residents first. The members that have voted for the sanctuary city have shown their interest is more in symbol politics than actual solutions and mark my word they will be voted out.

        1. Giving community policing tools to LEOs by defining their role is not symbolic, it’s factually enabling them to do their jobs.

        2. The US manufactured opioids are playing a significant part in the countries current drug problem/crime problem.

          It is foolish to think there are not good people from many countries who need help resettling here after fleeing terror in their home countries. This is not just about Mexicans (like they are all alike).

          I was not for Burien becoming a sanctuary city primarily because of who our current president is, and the likelihood of sanctuary cities becoming targets of his twitter finger. But since Burien has taken on the role of being a sanctuary city, it behooves us to understand what the term means. It means to provide a place for those who are in transition. It does not mean to provide shelter for lawlessness. Our police will still be going after the bad guys, whether they are here legally or not. They will also be going after good ole US born white people that are committing the majority of the day to day crimes and cruelty.

  7. I live in the Alturas and I shop in all the little stores on the corner of 136th and just because shit happens doesn’t mean people’s lives should stop or that businesses should close up shop.your basically saying store owners should lose money and people should stay away from those stores and to not contine on with our daily lives because of other people’s actions that yes cause some issues but seriously should not stop any of the rest of us from keeping up with our daily lives. You can run your mouth about who’s to blame but honestly are you going to go out and stand on the corner of 136th and Ambaum, Peter,Craig,clean it up, or Sam Smith, to be the regulator of what can or cannot happen? If you are cool, I am sure I will be seeing you.

    1. Queen Bee if you see the possibility of dying as merely an ‘issue’, you have little value for your life. I am only pointing out that several serious crimes have happened at the AMPM location and it would be only prudent to shop somewhere else.

  8. One solution is to have a unit in North Burien who track gang activity so they have time to be proactive. If Burien could offer more teen programs and places for tutoring, that would also be money well spent.

  9. Detroit, WA

    Where all the residents say “this place is full of crime!” and life goes on..and nothing changes..and the crime gets worse.

  10. See the problem is this is a multiple city and police issue not just a burien city council issue.
    The police need to get together King county and Seattle , Pierce County and swap information and set up some type of sting operation to catch these thugs.

    Since these two gangs that are currently fighting travel through the region or the different cities causing these shootings. It’s more of a multiple city issue .

    Also some more programs need to be setup to help teach these young adults and there parents that gang’s are just not good.

  11. i live at alturas too. i disagree with the “sanctuary city” because it only benefits one ethnic group. if the burien city council wants it that way, then they do not deserve federal funding. i did not vote for the council members who want sanctuary city. my suggestion to resolve the problem is to have free youth activities and sports competitions for the youth. a community center that could be open until 2 am with adult supervision. arts & crafts for youth who can’t play sports and to make friends. all youth of all ages and ethnic backgrounds would be invited to participate. the adult supervision could be on a voluntary basis by both civilian and police adults who have had s.o.w background checks. any federal funding the city burien receives would have to create mandatory fund of 37% and the 13% could be raised by youth themselves and their parents/caretakers.

    1. Sanctuary City only benefits one ethnic group really please explain that a little more.

      Also at 2 am how are the youth going to get home safely. Most buses stop running around 11:30 pm. The problem to is insurance costs for sports and athletics.

      Then you also run into parents that lean towards using these programs as free day-care. My parents ran into that problem years ago helping with cub scouts and boy scouts / school band. Parents just drop there kids off and never offer to help.

      Don’t want to pay for any activities then telling there kids to ask your kid if they can stay overnight instead of being offered to stay the night. If there friends. Just some of the headaches you can run into with some parents. That’s family’s with both parents so called involved in there children life’s.

  12. Clean it up, I have nothing against living or quality of life, I have 3 kids and we all have to live here and continue on with our lives. We take the bus , we walk, my kids go to school our lives have to go on because that’s the only thing anyone can do… I am more concerned with giving my kids stability and a since of security at home. We cannot control anything outside of our home but we can control what happens in our home and my kids know that we will always keep them safe and that we will always be a constant in their life as a support to them always and a steady loving parent that will protect them with all we have no matter what the situation is outside our home. Don’t ever presume that you know how someone else feels about life or death.

    Cedargirl, the sanctuary city doesn’t apply to only one ethnic background! It applies to so many ethnic communities and shame on you for your bias! Everyone in the world regardless of ethnicity deserves to be safe and free from harm. If someone you knew or someone you loved were here and hiding from deportation because they fear for their life in their own country I bet you would feel different but it’s people like you that cause hate to brew and problems to start.

    As my mother in law says; Nobody knows how STUPID you are until you open your mouth!!!!

    1. Because most likely these gang banger are not illegal aliens. There born in America and just made bad choices in life. Just because they be latino does not automatically make them a illegal alien. Dumbas

      This is one of the reason why it’s a local law enforcement issue. Now local police agencies could ask for help from the ATF and DEA . Since these gang bangers have guns and drugs also might be involved in other big crimes in the area. But then again that’s there own decision to make.

  13. It’s kinda weird how there’s been at least 3 shooting murders between the Alturas & AM/PM over the year and a half.

    Is there a common denominator? Hmmm….

Comments are closed.