Homeless man brutally attacks Seattle man on King County bus

Days after a report indicating crime was down in the King County Metro, a homeless man brutally attacked a Seattle resident on a bus in the First Hill neighborhood. It is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

The alleged attack happened completely by chance near James Street and 8th Avenue. The Asian American victim, who did not want to be identified, said he was punched, kicked and bitten by a homeless man who was “screaming really crazy racist stuff at me.” As the attack continued, the victim told KING 5 he screamed for help, but the driver “didn’t really seem to care.” The only person on the bus was another homeless man who didn’t interfere.

“King Country Metro says on their website that their number one mission is rider safety, but it seems like the policies and the way things are enforced don’t make that possible,” he said. “There must be a certain level of responsibility and opportunity for drivers to ensure safety for all passengers. Whether that means denying boarding to dangerous passengers, I think that needs to be taken into account.”

The King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the attack. They have not revealed any details about the alleged attacker, although it could help keep drivers safe.

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Why is it so dangerous to ride the bus in King County and Seattle?

King County Metro rarely, if ever, denies free rides to homeless people. For policy reasons, drivers are not allowed to confront dangerous homeless passengers, but instead call security. But those who regularly take the bus rarely call security.

This September 29 attack, like countless others, wasn’t just a blip on the radar – it’s part of a much larger problem. King County Metro has become the perfect storm for this kind of violence because it has opened the floodgates for homeless people to board buses without paying, without being questioned and, most critically, without consequences.

The rise in violence on King County Metro buses is directly related to the city’s inability (or unwillingness) to deal with its rampant homelessness problem.

King County Metro leadership has done virtually nothing to address the homeless who turn buses into their personal housing, commit violent crimes, get high or lie on multiple bus seats. Instead of cracking down on these threats, they do everything they can to appease activists who scream about “justice” whenever anyone tries to enforce ground rules.

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Politics is to blame for these results

When Metro announced it would stop fare enforcement in response to claims that it was somehow racist, they essentially opened the doors to allow anyone to ride without paying — and now it’s paying customers who are literally paying the price.

King County Metro does claim to have reinstated a new form of fare control, but good luck enforcing it. Despite an obvious increase in security, you’ll have a hard time figuring out which lines they’re patrolling. And certainly not at the bus stops, where dangerous homeless drug addicts continue to cause problems.

But Metro’s leadership doesn’t care at all. They would rather foist on us a report claiming they are making progress in reducing crime, even as residents continue to be attacked and harassed. Do these people even read the news? Or are they too busy celebrating that their buses are de facto homeless shelters on wheels?

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However, we were told that taking King County Metro was safe

Last week, King County Metro released a new report suggesting crime was down and ridership was up. But it’s hard to believe there’s any truth to the claim that it’s safer to ride the bus now than it was before the pandemic. Who do they think they are deceiving?

Even if the number of reported The number of crimes is technically lower, but that doesn’t mean the buses are safer. It just means that people have stopped reporting these incidents because they know nothing will come of it. If someone is threatened on a bus and the homeless attacker faces no consequences, why should they bother filing a report? The bureaucrats at Metro obviously don’t care.

The report even projects an unlikely 44% decline in outdoor drug use in the King County metro by August. A year ago, a University of Washington study reported meth in 98% of surface samples and 100% of air samples and fentanyl in 46% of surface and 25% of air samples in the area. King County Metro has done virtually nothing to address the problem, but there has been such a significant decline? Maybe it’s because people get high more often at our bus stops? This is something that is quite common for those of us who ride the bus.

Preventable violence

The sad truth is that this latest attack, like so many others, could have easily been prevented if King County Metro had had an ounce of common sense. Instead of rolling out the red carpet for the homeless and turning their buses into shelters, they could have enforced the rules and ensured the safety of paying customers. But no, that would have been asking too much in a city and county where “justice” is a higher priority than public safety.

If King County Metro really cared about reducing crime on board, they would start by holding people accountable. How about enforcing fares, for example? How about stopping people from smoking fentanyl on the buses? How about we get rid of the homeless people who refuse to pay and treat the people who ride the bus to work, school, or errands every day with the dignity and security they deserve?

But instead of doing any of that, King County Metro has chosen to gaslight the public. They claim safety is improving while their buses continue to be plagued by crime. It’s a slap in the face to the people who rely on public transportation in this city – and an insult to those of us who see through their lies.

The attack on this Seattle man should be a wake-up call for Metro leadership, but I’m not holding my breath. They are too busy pretending everything is fine, ignoring the real problems and sacrificing the safety of everyday residents in the name of appeasing the loudest voices of the radical left.

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