A destructive, roving band of people broke into several Seattle businesses Wednesday night and set fire to merchandise in some of the stores, police said.
The group of about 150 people first gathered at Cal Anderson Park at about 9 p.m., then roamed about the Capitol Hill neighborhood, doing massive amounts of property damage, looting, shooting fireworks, and committing arson, according to police reports. Individuals from the group broke the windows of a business in the 1400 block of East Olive Way and then started a fire inside the two-story commercial building, police said. Seattle firefighters extinguished the blaze. No injuries were reported.
The group then made its way to the 1500 block of 11th Avenue, breaking more businesses’ windows along the way. Some people in the group then broke into a business, stole merchandise and put it in middle of the street, where they lit it on fire.