Tourists Attempting To Visit Space Needle Attacked By Homeless Man

by Matt Markovich & Tammy Mutasa

SEATTLE – A family from Arizona was attacked by a man from a homeless camp just as they parked to visit the Space Needle earlier this month.

Details are just now being made public of the June 2 attack. Officers responded to a reports of a fight in progress in the parking lot next to the Wells Fargo Bank at 3rd Avenue and Denny Way, one block away from the Space Needle.

There is an unsanctioned encampment with about a dozen tents along one-block stretch of 3rd Avenue, that has been growing over the last three months.

Tourists often walk by on a daily basis on their way to the Space Needle and the Pacific Science Center.

Police documents state the family parked in the lot because of it’s close proximity to the Space Needle. They told police they felt uncomfortable being so close to the tents, especially after someone peaked their head out of a tent and saw them.

After moving their car to the other side of the lot, the family had just exited their car when a man emerged from a tent and became threatening.

He had a rope and attacked the father, punching him and attempting to strangle him, according to the report.

The report describes the man as delusional. It said he thought one of the family members was the TV star Ellen Degeneres and that he was going to marry her, and that’s why he attacked the father.

Police arrived around 2:30 p.m. and stopped the assault. The man was arrested on investigation of felony assault. Police said he had a Renton address.

The unidentified father suffered facial injures and a rope burn on his neck.

Melissa Burns who’s lived at the camp for 74 days said she didn’t know about the attack, but believes it will draw attention to the camp.

“Of course it will increase our scrutiny and make us more likely to move” said Burns.

Police said the camp has a high rate of drug use and criminal activity. Burns said she doesn’t allow drug use at her end of the camp.

Saying living on the street is never safe, Burns and her husband Shamrock accepted an offer by the city’s Navigation Team of plane tickets to Kansas where they have family.

Other tents are currently preventing the completion of the demolition of a former Car Toys building. Construction crews put out ‘no camping’ signs where tents are located because it’s a safety issue.

But, a frustrated construction worker told KOMO News, they can’t move the tents saying “only the city can.”

The crew has halted demolition of half of the building until the street campers move.

Some tourists said before they come back, they want to know what the city is doing to solve these issues.

“I know it’s a problem in a lot of larger cities, said tourist Carrie Guston. “But for me as a tourist it’s not something I want to see or feel unnerving when I’m you know, walking around.”

Tourism leaders with “Visit Seattle” said they’re hearing more of the same concerns from conventions, associations and visitors.

“Our convention center is in the heart of our extremely vibrant downtown, which makes it unique and attractive for many organizations looking to host conventions. But yes, like many cities along the west coast we are experiencing growth in the numbers of people struggling to secure adequate housing, mental health care and services to mitigate addiction. In light of this, we have seen more conventions, associations and visitors asking about what we are doing as a city to solve these issues and questions from visitors about safety when visiting Seattle,” Chantelle Lusebrink from Visit Seattle told KOMO News.

Officials said if the homeless crisis isn’t solved, it could take a toll on tourism industry.

Lusebrink added, “We stand with the rest of the Seattle community – our government leaders, community advocates and businesses – when we say we want to be a part of finding both short- and long-term solutions to what we are facing as a city. If we don’t, we do believe it will have an adverse effect on continued economic growth for the city, both in bringing conventions and meetings business, but also in general tourism.”

The attack near the Space Needle happened less than a month after a homeless man raped a woman inside a Ballard car dealership bathroom.

In that case, police arrested the homeless man who had a warrant, and had previously lived in the Nickelsville homeless camp.