Following a fatal shooting in downtown Seattle on Sunday afternoon, Piroshky Piroshky owner Olga Sagan announced the closure of their site at 3rd Ave and Pike St.
The bakery sent a series of tweets detailing problems with crime in the area.
“It’s normal to see that almost every single day,” said Piroshky Piroshky owner Olga Sagan.
According to the bakery, the gunfire on Sunday was the third in the vicinity in a month.
Have politely asked peole to move, and even with security called – no luck! Called police- police never showed up. Today we had another shooting (3rd in a month). @MayorofSeattle @fox13seattle @SeattleTimesCo @komonews @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/l07b8kQD5B
— Piroshky Piroshky (@PiroshkyBakery) February 27, 2022
Shortly before 12:30 p.m., gunfire happened. In the 200 block of Pine Street, officers discovered a male with gunshot wounds. The Seattle police said the person died at the scene.
The Crime Scene Investigation Unit of the Seattle Police Department was dispatched to gather evidence and examine the scene.
Homicide detectives are also looking into the case.
For the protection of her employees and clients, Sagan claimed the most recent incidents, including Sunday’s gunshot, caused her to close the site.
“Today’s shooting was at 1 p.m. in the middle of Sunday, in the middle of downtown. There’s tourists and families, and it’s just becoming normalized. And it absolutely makes me very, very angry,” Sagan said.
Sagan is frustrated with her inability to find a solution, recalling a time when she requested police aid at the bakery and waited 30 minutes before leaving.
Just hours after the deadly shooting, Sagan told KOMO News she made the decision to close the location because the area is no longer safe for her employees. She says she will find a position for employees at one of the Russian bakery’s other locations in Seattle. She said she is also deciding if the closure will be permanent or temporary.
Sagan said:
“We have been patiently communicating with a city for the last six months, but things only getting worse. We feel that city has abandoned downtown and not treating this crisis (both humanitarian and criminal) as an emergency. All we hear is them talking and no action.”
“I came in here on Saturday to try to open up and there was a lot of illegal activity outside, a lot of people selling drugs, using drugs, I feel as if it’s a state of emergency. I think it’s humanitarian and criminal crisis and I feel it’s not being treated like an emergency.” She added.
Sagan told The Seattle Times she made her decision solely because of the crime in the area, and asked: “How many shootings do we need to have to realize this is an active emergency in downtown Seattle?”
“I really don’t want to wait until my employees get shot, or my customers get shot,” she told the Times. “I feel it’s not far-fetched right now.”
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Sources: Scallywagandvagabond, Seattletimes, Thehill