Terrified residents in a Seattle neighborhood erected barricades outside their homes to combat a recent crimewave in the Blue city.
Locals in the Aurora Avenue neighborhood say they decided to take matters into their own hands after being plagued by shootings and late-night gang turf wars.
Amid allegations that socialist Mayor Katie Wilson and Seattle law enforcement have done little to curb the crime spree, homeowners prepared for the Memorial Day weekend by installing concrete and metal barriers.
The makeshift barriers were filled with soil, gravel and logs to block off access to at least three streets, where residents say they have had enough of being targeted by criminals.
Local father Peter Orr said the final straw came after a gang incident earlier this month where at least 40 bullets were sprayed in the streets, shattering windows and peppering homes with families inside.
'It’s either this, or bullets in my neighbor’s houses,' Orr told KTVB7 of the barriers.
Critics say Seattle's crime issues spiraled in 2020 when the city council voted to defund its police force, a move that Wilson supported at the time. But with Seattle ranking among the most dangerous cities in America today, residents are demanding a tougher approach to bring sky-high crime rates down.
'It is insane,' resident Rudy Pantoja told Fox News. 'The mayor needs to step up to the plate.'
The barriers are reminiscent of the 1979 movie Mad Max starring Mel Gibson, set in a dystopian world where society has collapsed.
Terrified residents in the Seattle neighborhood of Aurora Avenue erected barricades outside their homes to combat a recent crimewave in the Blue city
Amid allegations that socialist Mayor Katie Wilson and Seattle law enforcement have done little to curb the crime spree, homeowners in her city have begun to take matters into their own hands
Resident Rudy Pantoja said he blames Seattle authorities for not doing enough to curb the crime spree
Locals in the Aurora Avenue neighborhood say they believe a string of recent shootings are tied to prostitution and gang warfare in the area.
In the past month alone, residents say there have been at least eight shootings within around a 10 block radius around their homes.
One incident saw bullets sprayed into an innocent family's home, with one bullet stopping just inches from a six-week-old baby's bassinet.
The baby's father Jake, who gave only his first name, told King5 that gunfire has become a repeat issue in the neighborhood, and said he blames authorities for failing to hold criminals accountable.
'It's not enough,' he said.
'Our neighborhood feels like collateral damage. And it’s only a matter of time until somebody gets seriously hurt.'
Another resident Kate, who also gave only her first name over fears of being targeted for speaking out, said the gunfire has become such a plague that it is a normal part of life.
'We celebrate when there’s not a shooting,' she told KTVB.
The barriers are reminiscent of the 1979 movie Mad Max starring Mel Gibson, set in a dystopian world where society has collapsed
In the past month alone, residents say there have been at least eight shootings within around a 10 block radius around their homes in Aurora Avenue. Pictured: Surveillance images of a gang shooting earlier this month
The makeshift barriers were filled with soil, gravel and logs to block off access to at least three streets, where residents say they have had enough of being targeted by criminals
Locals say shootings and random gunfire has become a regular issue
Kate and Orr said they joined efforts to build the barricades over the Memorial Day weekend over frustrations about a lack of action from authorities.
It comes amid scrutiny on Wilson's approach to policing in Seattle, with the socialist mayor having previously supported defunding the city's police force in 2020.
She penned an opinion piece at the time arguing that there has 'never been a better time to try' defunding the police, saying she believed 'there’s a strong argument for simply disbanding police departments and starting over.'
'Leaving aside debates on the left about whether police abolition is possible under capitalism, or at all, let’s stick with the current movement demand of cutting the SPD [Seattle Police Department] budget by half,' she wrote at the time.
'That’s a lot of officers. It may sound alarming, until you realize that U.S. police perform numerous functions for which armed personnel, trained for violent conflict, are unnecessary or unsuited - and often, unsurprisingly, cause harm.'
Although Wilson supported slashing the police budget in half, she has not moved to do so as mayor - although she did support a city council move in 2020 that cut several million from the police budget while she was serving as leader of the Transit Riders Union.
Seattle's iconic Space Needle and Museum of Pop Culture were blighted by tent encampments when the Daily Mail visited earlier this year
Since Wilson took office in January, some parts of Seattle have seen a slight improvement in crime statistics, including a 14% drop in violent crime in the downtown area compared to 2024.
Seattle remains one of America's most dangerous cities, however, with crime tracker Neighborhood Scout declaring it safer than just 1 percent of US cities.
The city's rates of murder, rape, robbery and assault are all far higher than the national average, with the odds of becoming a victim of violent crime just one in 132 people, per the tracker.
The Daily Mail has contacted Wilson for comment.