SEATTLE — People were arrested after smoking drugs in a bathroom for nearly an hour at a Seattle store, forcing customers to evacuate, police said.
Seattle Police told KIRO 7 that officers were called to a business on Aurora Avenue North just after 2 p.m. Sunday.
A Seattle Fire Department spokesperson said firefighters responded to the Krispy Kreme Donuts parking lot at the corner of Aurora Avenue North and North 125th Street to assist police.
Employees told police the two men smoked drugs in the bathroom for about 40 minutes.
Police said customers were forced to evacuate the store due to drug fumes.
Police were able to find one of the suspects boarding a bus at a nearby bus stop. Police stopped her and learned she had a warrant for her. The woman told police she had been assaulted, and she was later evaluated by the Seattle Fire Department.
A fire department spokeswoman said crews treated the last person listed, a 28-year-old woman, who was in stable condition.
KIRO 7 asked police if the incident happened inside a Krispy Kreme store. A spokesperson did not provide further details.
Police have not released details about the second suspect.
Krispy Kreme donuts:
When KIRO 7 entered the Krispy Kreme Donuts store, there were two toilets to the right of the front door, each with its own keypad.
We spoke to two Krispy Kreme employees.
Workers told KIRO 7 that even though the restroom had a keypad, they needed a key to unlock the door, and someone stole the key.
KIRO 7 then asked another employee about the incident that allegedly happened inside the bathroom.
A worker said, “I can't confirm or deny.''
Workers said they were advised not to talk to KIRO 7.
KIRO 7 reached out to Krispy Kreme Donuts for more details, including whether the company is assisting customers who may have been affected by the deadly drug fumes.
We look forward to hearing from you again.
At KIRO 7, customers could be seen shopping inside the store on Monday. There was no signage in the building indicating that there had been an incident inside the restroom.
Nearby businesses facing similar issues:
KIRO 7 also spoke with several people who work in the area to understand how drug use is impacting nearby small businesses.
Nicole Kumar, who works in the area, said she has been working along Aurora Avenue North for about eight months.
“It’s a daily occurrence,” she said. “We have people who want to hide in the corner where Subway used to be. They do drugs there. They defecate there.”
She said the problem had been worsening for months.
“There were people actively smoking drugs in front of the store,” she said. “My daughter was out of school last week and there was a woman smoking fentanyl in front of the store door. So my 7-year-old son is now being exposed to someone smoking fentanyl. ”
Kumar shared a photo Sunday night saying surveillance cameras captured two people smoking fentanyl in front of his store.
“Most of the time there's a lot of yelling, there's a lot of drug use, and it's really unpleasant to sit in our store and be exposed to those situations,” she said. “We now have fully automatic locking doors in place. Just because someone comes in with malicious intent, they have to tap a button to get in.”
During our interview with Kummer, KIRO 7 witnessed what Kummer told us.
A strange man approached us out of nowhere and started yelling at us with remarks that had nothing to do with the story.
Kumar said her customers are feeling anxious, which is impacting her business.
“Some people may not come back because of the experience,” she says. “Every client who grew up in this field always comes to this field and realizes that this field is not the same.”
KIRO 7 also spoke with Milda Awais, manager of the 76 Gas Station on Aurora Avenue North.
He has been working at a gas station for over 20 years.
Awais said he no longer allows customers to use the company's restrooms due to increased drug use and to protect the safety of his employees.
“People buy from us and as soon as they go outside they start smoking drugs,” he said. “We are losing business.”
He went on to say, “The good customers here, they don't want to come here. This is exactly why.''
The manager of the 125th Street Grill & Bar showed KIRO 7 some used foil and needles left in the parking lot by drug users.
We also spoke to Hollis Houston, who was cleaning up along Aurora Avenue North near her manager's workplace on Monday.
“We see a lot of foil. Fentanyl foil, as we call it, is everywhere around here,” he said. “I see it almost everywhere. And I see people smoking it at various bus stops along here. It's pretty prevalent.”
Houston said she has been cleaning up along Aurora Avenue North for the past few days.
“We all live in the same community and share it,” he said. “So it's clearly not cleansed right now and it's almost in a downward spiral right now.”
