Police are investigating a suspected hate crime after they say two or three young men repeatedly drove by Pony, a queer bar in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, yelling homophobic slurs and firing a water bead gun at people standing outside Tuesday night.
Detective Jillian Williamson, with the Seattle Police Department’s bias crimes unit, asked any witnesses or anyone who has seen the car to contact police. Investigators have not yet released photos witnesses took of the car, which they described as a “heavily modified” black Lexus sedan with tinted windows and a sticker spelling “WRLD” in white lettering taking up most of the rear windshield, Williamson said by phone Friday.
Pony’s general manager Anouk Rawkson said he thinks the young men targeted the bar on Tuesday because it’s a popular day with transgender and nonbinary customers.
“A lot of trans kids go there to feel supported because they feel safe there. Tuesdays are like their safe space,” Rawkson said.
Officers responded to the bar on East Madison Street and 13th Avenue just before 1 a.m. Wednesday. Witnesses told police they saw two or three young men, who appeared to be teenagers, circling the block around Pony in the Lexus for about 90 minutes, yelling anti-gay slurs and telling patrons to die. At one point, the young men were seen getting out of the car and approaching the bar, but they got back into the sedan and drove off, police said.
Witnesses told police they saw someone in the front passenger seat of the car aiming and firing what looked like a paintball gun at people gathered outside the bar shortly before 1 a.m. One woman said she felt pain in her arm when something — presumably fired from the gun — struck her jacket sleeve. She did not have a visible injury, according to police.
Several people said they believed the young men targeted them because of their gender identity and sexuality, and because Pony is a gathering space for people in the queer community, according to police.
Officers are still searching for the car, and broadcast a description of the Lexus to all police officers in Seattle and the Washington State Patrol early Wednesday. Investigators have identified and are working with the registered owner of the Lexus, a Tacoma resident, to identify the people who were in the car, which had not been reported stolen, Williamson said.
“We’re taking it seriously and investigating thoroughly,” Williamson said.
This is at least the second suspected hate crime reported to Seattle police so far this year. One other incident was reported in January, compared with none the same month last year, police data show.
While the incident scared many of Pony’s employees, it didn’t come as a surprise, Rawkson said.
“People who are hateful and trying to spread their hate are more bold now because we have someone who runs the country who says it’s OK to be hateful,” Rawkson said. “It happens a lot more than people think.”
Rawkson encouraged people in the queer community to continue “looking out for one another,” including by avoiding walking alone at night and reporting any hate crimes to police.
“We’re used to this. We’ve been fighting our whole lives, so bring it,” Rawkson said by phone Friday. “Some people will be triggered and scared, but we’re a big family and Seattle’s queer community is very supportive.”