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UW

A Car-Prowl Gone Wrong, a Jammed Pistol, and a Stray Round Through a Second-Story Window at Alpha Phi

WAshootingadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Shortly before 2 AM PDT on April 11, 2025, a man near 47th Street and 19th Avenue NE — the heart of the University of Washington's Greek Row — interrupted a group breaking into his car. One suspect tried to fire at him, but the gun jammed; the group fled, circled the block, and returned to fire several shots. A bullet struck a second-story window of the nearby Alpha Phi sorority house, where students were sleeping. No one was hurt. UW issued no campus-wide UW Alert because Seattle Police characterized the incident as targeted at the car-prowl victim, but UW Student Life and UWPD issued a community-affairs statement and committed to increased patrols.

Alerts
2
Response
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Washington
Public R1 · WA
~52,320 studentsUW Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionKOMO News — UW spokesperson statement (April 11, 2025)1320 chars
Statement from UW Student Life and UW Police Department The University of Washington is deeply concerned by an incident that occurred in the early morning hours of Friday, April 11, in the University District. According to the Seattle Police Department, a man interrupted a vehicle prowl near 19th Avenue NE and NE 47th Street and was confronted by suspects, one of whom attempted to discharge a firearm before fleeing. The suspects subsequently returned to the area and fired multiple rounds. One stray round entered a second-story window of an off-campus Greek-letter chapter house, where students were sleeping at the time. There were no injuries. UW Student Life and the UW Police Department are in direct contact with the affected chapter and Panhellenic leadership to provide counseling resources and to support any students who would like to relocate temporarily. UWPD will be increasing emphasis patrols in the University District and coordinating closely with the Seattle Police Department during the investigation. A UW Alert was not issued because the Seattle Police Department determined the gunfire was directed at the original car-prowl victim and there was no ongoing threat to the broader University community. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact SPD at (206) 233-5000.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed UW community statement consistent with the spokesperson comments quoted by KOMO News and the [Seattle Police Department blotter post](https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2025/04/11/police-investigating-shooting-in-the-university-district-sorority-house-struck-by-stray-bullet/) timestamped 2 AM PDT
The bullet entered the [Alpha Phi house](https://www.uwalphaphi.org/) — KING 5 and KIRO 7 both identified the chapter; the UW spokesperson described the university as 'deeply concerned' that a stray round entered a residence where students were sleeping
This case is a deliberate example of the UW Alert *not* being triggered: SPD characterized the gunfire as targeted at the car-prowl victim, so the Clery emergency-notification standard (immediate ongoing threat to campus) was not met — yet the institution still chose to communicate via Student Life and UWPD channels
FOLLOW-UPWebsite
Approximate reconstruction841 chars
UWPD Community Safety Notice — University District The UW Police Department, in partnership with the Seattle Police Department, is conducting an active investigation into an early-morning shooting in the University District during which a stray round struck an off-campus Greek-letter residence. While the incident is being investigated as targeted and there is no ongoing threat to the campus community, UWPD is increasing patrols in and around 19th Avenue NE between NE 45th and NE 47th Streets through the weekend and is coordinating with Greek chapter leadership on additional safety measures. If you observed suspicious activity or have information about a vehicle that may have circled the block after an initial confrontation, please contact SPD at (206) 233-5000. UWPD non-emergency line: (206) 685-8973. In an emergency, dial 911.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed UWPD community safety notice in the format used by UWPD's public-affairs office; the [SPD blotter post](https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2025/04/11/police-investigating-shooting-in-the-university-district-sorority-house-struck-by-stray-bullet/) is the foundational source
Greek Row at UW occupies the [17th-19th Avenue NE corridor](https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/sorority-house-struck-by-stray-bullet-university-of-washington-greek-row/281-730acee7-ca13-4aae-8dea-82f49a2ff4cd) just north of the main campus — technically off-campus, but functionally part of the UW residential population
MyNorthwest's coverage emphasized that the [suspects fled, circled, and returned](https://mynorthwest.com/local/uw-sorority-house-shooting/4074668) before firing — a pattern that informs the 'no ongoing threat' determination because the geographic envelope had closed by the time the alert decision was made
Context

Background

The University of Washington's Greek Row sits just north of the main Seattle campus in the University District, with chapter houses concentrated along 17th, 18th, and 19th Avenues NE. The neighborhood is technically off-campus and falls under Seattle Police Department jurisdiction, with UW Police Department exercising concurrent authority and routinely coordinating community-affairs messaging. Around 2 AM PDT on April 11, 2025, a man at 19th Avenue NE and NE 47th Street confronted multiple suspects who were attempting to break into vehicles. One suspect attempted to fire at him; the gun jammed. The group fled, then circled the block and returned, firing multiple rounds. A bullet entered a second-story window of the Alpha Phi sorority house where students were sleeping. No one was hurt. The case is doctrinally interesting because UW did *not* issue a UW Alert — Seattle PD characterized the gunfire as targeted at the car-prowl victim, and UW determined the Clery 'immediate threat' trigger was not met. Instead, UW communicated through Student Life and UWPD community-affairs channels, offered counseling, and committed to emphasis patrols. This response model — informational rather than alert-system — has become a recurring pattern for incidents that are both serious and clearly targeted, including the WSU Pullman Greek-Row shooting of December 26, 2024. Together, these cases illustrate how universities are increasingly differentiating between 'campus-wide emergency notification' and 'targeted community-affairs communication' even when the underlying violence reaches inside a chapter house.
Analysis

Key Findings

UW deliberately did not issue a UW Alert: SPD characterized the gunfire as targeted at the original car-prowl victim, so the Clery 'immediate threat to campus' standard was not met
Even without an emergency notification, the institution communicated via UW Student Life and UWPD community-affairs channels — a hybrid response that is becoming standard for serious-but-targeted Greek-house incidents
The bullet's penetration through a second-story window of the Alpha Phi house, into a room where students were sleeping, is the closest miss in any of the 2024-2025 Greek-house shootings catalogued in this archive
UW's response — counseling, optional temporary relocation, and emphasis patrols — modeled the institutional support pattern that increasingly accompanies non-alert Greek-house incidents
Outcome
No injuries. Damage to a second-story window of the Alpha Phi house. Suspects fled in a vehicle; Seattle Police investigation continued.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
  2. News
  3. News
  4. News
  5. News
  6. News
Tags
sorority-housestray-bulletgreek-rowalpha-phicar-prowlno-alert-issuedcommunity-affairs-statementpublic-r1washingtonoff-campusnon-violent-outcome
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion