Police arrest suspect in Ballard fire assault

Police say they’ve arrested Christopher Burrus, the suspect wanted for attempted murder in Ballard on November 7th.

Burrus was picked up by the Mountlake Terrace Police Department in a traffic stop just before midnight yesterday, SPD said. He was turned over to Seattle Police.

Police say Burrus doused a man with a flammable liquid and set him on fire in the 4500 block of Leary Way. Kasey Busch barely survived the attack, and he’s make steady progress in a long recovery.

Busch told KOMO TV he had a heated argument over stolen tools with Burrus’ ex-girlfriend.

Detectives believed Burrus was still in the area. They had received several possible sightings over the last few months.

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18 thoughts to “Police arrest suspect in Ballard fire assault”

  1. is that annoying Canadian guy on Nextdoor going to write a letter to Mike O’Brien thanking him for getting this man off the street?

    or is it only bad things in our neighborhood that we should attribute to him?

    the milk in my refrigerator went bad… thanks O’Brien

  2. Well, Weepy Mike O’Brien and Seattle’s Homeless Industrial Enabler’s Complex sure don’t seem to care about all the grifters, junkies, bums, street criminals and various RV derelicts who’ve moved into Ballard over the past 5 years, so as our council member, I’m pretty sure that’s where we can direct blame. If there’s anyone else you feel responsible, let us know (“society! Waaaaaah”).

  3. Yeah, if you’re on Nextdoor you would know Mike O’Brien is responsible for all homelessness. Only Mike O’Brien can fix homelessness, but he doesn’t. All crime is also attributable to Mike O’Brien. Any crazy person on the street is Mike O’Brien’s fault. It used to be the mayor and Mike O’Brien’s fault for everything, now it’s just Mike O’Brien’s fault.
    The funny thing is Mike O’Brien is the smallest, most insignificant part of the solution. The problems are much larger than Ballard and Mike O’Brien. It will take county, state and national involvement to solve these problems. But the Nextdoor crowd, you just keep ranting and sending emails to Mike O’Brien. That’ll do it.

  4. Hope they didn’t mess up his hair during the arrest, or the ACLU will force the the former HR Dept-turned-police admins to let him go and award him $100k from the city budget.

  5. I don’t blame O’Brien for creating all the problems but I sure as hell blame him for making them worse with his screwy ideas and his resolute disregard for their unintended impacts on business owners and residents. He’s always there on his bike for a reporter, crocodile tears a-flowing, to call out how mean everyone is to the homeless but when there’s a murder or crime wave or what have you, driven by the subset of homeless who commit them…crickets. He’s a complete tool.

  6. Aww, this violent ahole just needs a free condo and a bucket of free money and/or drugs and he’ll turn it all around. Have some compassion.

  7. How is this guy non homeless? Last known address was a garage. You got some special rules you apply to the classification? So, if he’s couch surfing would that make him homeless? He might not be unsheltered, but could still be “homeless.” Wonder if this guy pays taxes of any sort, directly or indirectly? He is definitely living under the radar (as are many homeless) to avoid discovery and arrest. That is not uncommon in the homeless population – avoiding arrest for outstanding warrants in WA or elsewhere, while taking food from the food bank, using public spaces and maybe doing a few car prowls or breaking and entering. This, guy, by the way has allegedly stolen bikes from Alpine Hut, and the police were trying catch him.

  8. @Uff da: How do you know he’s homeless? Avoiding arrest warrants doesn’t make one homeless. It’s called being a fugitive. You’d be surprised how many people can go about their lives and jobs with warrants out for their arrest.

    Also, I recall someone mention in an interview that they worked or had worked with this guy in the past. And I know you and the other anti-homeless echo chamber here like to gloss over it, but it’s extremely difficult to get or maintain employment without a residence.

    Either way, nothing about this article or story called for the anti-homeless circle jerk to take over the comment sections with their irrelevant hand-wringing. But hey, keep whining about O’Brien, the more whining there is on the comment section, the more likely he’ll win in a landslide.

  9. Sounds like the quintessential Ballard homeless addict to me:

    The owner of Alpine Hut was tipped off the stolen bike, a LaPierre Zezty AM 327 worth $3,500, was listed on Offer Up. He and two employees set up a sting to get it back. They met Burris in the QFC parking lot off Dravus in Interbay to “buy” the bike. They called police and Burrus was arrested.

    When Burrus was arrested with the bike, he had credit cards belonging to other people and several fake IDs, according to court documents. Burrus was charged with three counts of identity theft. The bike was returned to Alpine Hut.

  10. @Truth
    The only kind of “pearl clutching” going on in Seattle is jewelry theft from burglaries.

    I love how hippies hate the idea of cleaning up the streets, but they would never tolerate a bunch of degenerates ruining their favorite Burning Man or Deadhead-type event. Large crowds of drunks and druggies mean you need lots of security and a zero tolerance policy for bad behavior. Hahaha, though, not in a city! Camp and slam heroin and steal and assault and crap where you want! It’s all ok because “Trump is a meanie!” or “something something social justice taxes racism”. Your side is bust. Give it up.

    When you get tired of playing the role of “Meathead” from the tv show “All in the Family” let us know and maybe we can form a strategy to push back against the criminal negligence of our city leaders and restore order in our neighborhood.

  11. To be clear though, I’m not saying I support Trump. I just very much disagree with the idea of homeless people. And hey I’m not saying all homeless people are bad people. Hell, my son was homeless for a while before I let him come back home.
    But you have to wonder. If someone is homeless, they clearly fucked something up. In my son’s case, he was being an annoying bitch. All homeless people have their faults. I think we need to treat everyone on a case by case basis.
    But I don’t think it’s my responsibility to take care of every homeless guy just cause he had some bad luck, or he’s addicted to drugs, or he’s my son. Like shit, take care of yourself once in a while.

  12. Oh lordy, are you really all that stupid? He’s a bum. Occasionally bums find a couch to sleep on, or squat to move into, but at the end of the day, they’re bums, living by bum rules, free as a bird because Mike O’Brien and his weepy followers think the bums are “oppressed”.

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