Police are searching for five suspects after a 51-year-old woman was attacked near The Junction and robbed of her cellphone.
SEATTLE, WA — Cellphone video recorded by a neighbor captured a group attacking a 51-year-old woman in West Seattle before taking her phone and fleeing in a white Honda Accord, according to police reports and local news accounts.
The attack happened at about 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in the 4500 block of 42nd Avenue Southwest near The Junction. Seattle police responded after multiple people called 911 about a woman being attacked in a parking lot. By the time officers arrived, both the woman and the suspects had left. Police later found the woman receiving treatment at a nearby urgent care clinic.
A neighbor who asked not to be identified told KOMO News that she began recording after seeing a man strike the woman and knock her to the ground. Video reviewed by police showed four suspects surrounding the woman while she was on the pavement. A fifth person appeared to remain inside the getaway vehicle. Parts of the confrontation were obscured in the footage by foliage and a sign.
The police report said the video appeared to show one suspect taking something from the woman before the group moved toward the waiting car. Another suspect was seen using his foot against the woman, beginning to walk away and then returning before doing so again. The suspects then entered a white Honda Accord without license plates and drove south on 42nd Avenue Southwest.
The woman told officers she had been walking back to her vehicle when four or five men approached her. According to the police report, one of them yelled, “Hey, that’s my phone!” before the attack began. The woman told police she did not know the men and had never seen them before. She remembered being kicked in the head twice but said she did not lose consciousness.
Police said the suspects stole the woman’s blue iPhone. Officers attempted to track the phone but were unsuccessful, according to KIRO 7. Investigators also canvassed the neighborhood for additional surveillance footage that could show the suspects or their vehicle before or after the attack.
Police reported visible injuries to the woman’s head. A person familiar with the victim told West Seattle Blog that she also suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung and was treated at Harborview Medical Center. The police report obtained by the outlet said an American Medical Response ambulance transported her to the hospital after officers located her at the urgent care clinic.
KOMO News reported that the victim was 51. Residents interviewed by the station described the violence as unusual and disturbing for the busy neighborhood, particularly because the attack happened while it was still light outside and near apartment buildings and businesses. One neighbor said he regularly walks through the parking lot and had not previously felt unsafe there.
Police descriptions listed four suspects as Black males believed to be between 16 and 22 years old with thin builds. Clothing descriptions varied among the four. The fifth suspect remained in the driver’s seat and was not described in detail in the police account. Police had not announced any arrests as of Monday, Sept. 28.
Investigators continued searching for the suspects and additional video connected to the robbery. Seattle police said the victim did not know the people who attacked her, and authorities had not publicly identified a motive beyond the theft documented in the investigation. The white Honda Accord and the stolen phone had not been reported recovered in the accounts reviewed.
Author note: Last updated September 29, 2026.