Thursday Oct. 5 at around 2 p.m., a man was stabbed at the Kelsey Creek Shopping Center in Bellevue, located on the corner of 148th and Main.
“Investigators learned that the victim was a courier who was transporting an undisclosed amount of jewelry in his vehicle. A suspect approached the victim while he was seated in his vehicle in the parking lot, broke the driver’s side window, and forcibly removed him from the car,” according to the press release. “The victim was then stabbed at least once, and the jewelry he was transporting was taken. The suspect then left in a vehicle.”
The press release also details how the victim’s wounds were non-life-threatening and how the area in the parking lot in which the incident occurred will remain closed throughout the investigation. “Police believe this was a targeted attack, and do not believe that there is any ongoing threat to the community,” it states.
Patrick Arpin, the Assistant Chief of the Bellevue Police Department, explained that this kind of thing has occurred in the past, even in Bellevue. “It does happen. These robberies occur all over the country. Jewelry couriers are definitely targeted,” Arpin said, adding on that the violence is unusual. It’s typically over pretty quick, and they’re planned attacks. Incidents like this have happened in Bellevue before. “We hate to see that happen and someone get hurt,” Arpin said.Arpin said, adding on that the violence is unusual. It’s typically over pretty quick, and they’re planned attacks. Incidents like this have happened in Bellevue before. “We hate to see that happen and someone get hurt,” Arpin said.“We don’t believe this was a random occurrence,” said Seth Tyler, the public information officer of the Bellevue Police Department. “I think people understand that this was a criminal ring that targets jewelry couriers.” He then went on to explain that the Bellevue Police Department is working with the FBI to identify the offenders. “It’s not the first time jewelry couriers have been targeted in Puget Sound,” according to Q13 Fox. “[They] reported similar crimes dating back to 2013. But police so far said there is no connection to Thursday’s incident.” The incident occurred in broad daylight in the busy shopping center and of course startled the witnesses. “It was really scary,” said Ron Lie, an employee at the Kelsey Creek Shopping Center. “A busy place like this, right in the middle of the daytime? I just can’t believe it.”“We’re fortunate that there weren’t any other injures and we are fortunate there were people that saw what happened and they are talking to us,” Tyler told Q13 Fox.The victim was hospitalized and is expected to survive the attack. Police say that the robbers took off in a vehicle and are currently on the run.