Updated: We spoke with Detective Chris Young, the lone graffiti detective with the Seattle Police Department. He tells us that these are not gang tags – in fact he says that only about one-percent of tags are gang-related. He believes this graffiti is done by a young person or people. He says when you see offensive words, demonic symbols or swastikas, the person/people are trying to be offensive.
If you get tagged, Detective Young encourages you to report it. “There’s only one of me and it’s a big city,” he says, if it’s not reported, “I don’t know it happened.” He says you can report it by calling the non-emergency line (206) 625-5011.
Earlier: Quite a few houses, garages and some cars in Ballard were tagged early Wednesday morning or late Tuesday night. We drove down one alley and just about every surface, whether a fence, garage or house was hit.
Profanity has been edited from this photo
The tags include hate language, swastikas and profanity, all in the same blue spray paint.
The tags in these pictures that Dave sent us are just south of 65th St, near 28th.
Linus posted in the forum about the tags and coolbeans responded, “I would be the house with the disturbing message to share with my 9 year old. Many places within the block got tagged from a mailbox, another house, a garage, and a side of a van that the content was ‘too inappropriate to share’. A passerby commented that a lot of houses got tagged north of here. People are still finding tags they didn’t realize they had. Check your property.”
Linus spoke with police who said that “the speed at which it’s painted out is key to them revisiting or not.”
