Downtown Seattle apparel store broken into ‘about a dozen times’ in the last year

Surveillance video shows thieves breaking into a store in downtown Seattle

A surveillance video showed several thieves breaking into the downtown Seattle store and getting away with thousands of goods.

SEATTLE – A surveillance video showed several thieves breaking into a store in downtown Seattle and escaping with thousands of dollars in goods.

It’s not the first time this has happened this year, and if something doesn’t change, downtown businesses fear it won’t be the last.

At around 4 a.m. on Thursday morning, Simply Seattle owner Jamie Munson said he had been woken up to notifications that someone had broken into his store.

“It’s haunting, you know; it’s a bit scary. It’s like breaking into your car or ransacking your house or whatever. We take it personally, ”Munson said.

Munson says his shop was raided by crooks about a dozen times in the past year. Burglaries in the city center are so bad that it is one of the reasons why he closed his Pioneer Square locations, he says.

But Munson says this latest slump is unlike any other.

“We hadn’t seen that much sophistication. You know, that had been in the works for a while, they’d been planning this for a while,” he says.

CONNECTED: Man arrested 76 times in King County was arrested for robbery at the Pike Place store

A surveillance video shows a handful of people breaking through the door and grabbing as much as they can carry. Munson says thieves got away with goods valued at around $ 10,000-15,000.

“How do we exist downtown? How do we love and be a part of our city and our community, but are we helping to be part of the solution that ends unnecessary crime in downtown Seattle?” he says.

The Downtown Seattle Association says persistent shoplifting is a problem for many downtown businesses. They look for answers from the city guides.

“Our businesses that managed to stay open during the pandemic cannot afford the added burden of ongoing shoplifting. Our city and county guides need to figure out how to solve what has become a costly and common problem for far too many businesses. “, It says in a prepared statement of the association.

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