Crime & Safety

Safeway Re-Opens After Masked 19-Year-Old Enters Store With Knife

A bomb squad was called to the scene after a woman with two knives left a backpack in the store, Redmond Police said.

Update, 3:30 p.m.: Safeway and all other businesses in the Bear Creek Village shopping center are back open after a 19-year-old woman armed with at least one knife entered the supermarket wearing a mask and told an employee to evacuate the store.

In addition to the mask, Redmond Police say the suspect was wearing a hooded sweatshirt pulled up around her face. Her suspicious behavior prompted store employees to call 911 shortly after 10 a.m. Monday.

Officers arrived on the scene to find the woman still in the store and armed with at least one knife. Police used a bean-bag gun to take her into custody.

The suspect damaged items in the store and left a backpack in one of the aisles, police said. The Bellevue Police Bomb Squad and King County Sheriff's Office Bomb Canine Unit examined the backpack and determined it did not contain explosives.

The suspect received slight bruising on her arm from the bean bag gun and was taken to a nearby hospital, where she is expected to receive a mental health evaluation. Police said she may have behaved similarly at other area stores in the recent past.

Charges have yet to be filed in the incident. No other injuries were reported.

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Update, 12:30 p.m.:
Stores in the Bear Creek Village shopping center have begun to re-open after a woman brought two knives into the Safeway store this morning and told employees to leave.

Officer Julie Beard said a bomb squad has determined a backpack left behind by the suspect does not contain any explosives. Police are still processing the scene at Safeway but expect to re-open the store in the next 10-15 minutes.

The woman who was arrested is a Redmond resident in her late teens or early 20s. She has mental health issues and is a person known to police, Beard said.

The incident began at 10:10 a.m. Monday when the suspect entered the Safeway store wearing a mask or face paint and carrying the two knives, police said. She told employees to leave, but it remains unclear whether she directly threatened anyone or was attempting to rob the store.

The suspect left a backpack behind before fleeing the scene. She was detained and arrested after a short foot pursuit.

The entire shopping center was evacuated while a bomb squad was called in to examine the backpack.

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Original post, 11:20 a.m.: 
The Bear Creek Safeway on Redmond Way was evacuated earlier this morning after a woman entered the store with an unknown weapon and left a suspicious package behind.

Redmond Police Officer Julie Beard said the woman appeared to be wearing a mask or face paint and was carrying a knife, scissors or some other type of weapon. It's unclear whether she was attempting to rob the store or threaten anyone, Beard said.

The woman fled the scene but was taken into custody after a short foot pursuit. The store, located at 17246 Redmond Way, remains evacuated while a bomb squad examines the package.

Redmond Patch will post more details when they are available.


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