A man and a woman were both beaten with a baseball bat early this morning in Ravenna Park. Police have not yet located the two suspects, and the investigation is ongoing.

We heard the news first from a resident of the area (via twitter direct message sent at 3:50 AM; kept anonymous due to privacy concerns), who said:

…police and medics congregated at 55th and Ravenna PL after a fight broke out. In the park. As officers arrived, two men emerged from the south end of the park saying that someone had beaten one or both of them with a bat.

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Just before 9 AM, Detective Mark Jamieson with the North Precinct of the Seattle Police Department, posted the following on the SPD Blotter:

On January 12th, at approximately 3:30 am, a citizen called 911 after hearing yelling and someone crying for help inside the southeast corner of Ravenna Park (approximately NE 55th Street and west of 25th Avenue NE). As officers arrived in the area, two victims, a 41 year old male and a 54 year old female, emerged from the wooded area. They had been beaten with a baseball bat multiple times. Both victims had head injuries as well as other injuries to their bodies. According to the victims, the suspect is a known male who they had a dispute with earlier. The suspect, described as a black male armed with the baseball bat, was accompanied by a white male. There is no further description of the white male. It appears that the suspect with the bat did the attack.

The Seattle Fire Department transported the couple to Harborview Medical Center with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

A K9 team attempted to locate the suspects within the large wooded park, but was unable to find them. The investigation is open and ongoing at this time.

We will update this story here when more information becomes available.

UPDATE (11:24 AM): Talked briefly on the phone and via email with Terrie Johnston, Crime Prevention Coordinator for the North Precinct. The first suspect is a regular denizen of the park, described as a black man in his late 30s-early 40s, wearing a black trench coat, a black backpack, black boots, and carrying a baseball bat. The second suspect is a white male adult. There was a fast response by multiple SPD units who established containment of the area quickly. Unfortunately, the K9 track produced neegtive results.

When I asked about the current state of Ravenna Park and if there were any additional concerns for park users and residents of the area, Johnston said this event wouldn’t stop her from using the park. She advised that users keep up their usual level of alertness though the park. Via the email:

As always, be aware of your surroundings, carry a cell phone to call 911 should you see anything suspicious.  Trust your gut feelings, if someone gives you a bad feeling, avoid them, leave and report them if appropriate.

UPDATE (12:58 PM): Kirotv.com has video of their report from their mornings newscast, as well as a slideshow of photos taken while police and fire crews were in the area.