Police unsure if recent North Seattle attacks are linked

SEATTLE -- Police are trying to figure out if a handful of assaults in the north end of the city are somehow connected.

The first attack happened near the Northgate Mall on Friday, and on Sunday there was an attempted abduction in Greenwood. Another woman told police she was attacked early Sunday morning near a Wallingford bar.

The latest attack took place Monday morning as a woman was jogging around Green Lake.

Police are concerned enough about the attacks that they sent out an email alerting neighborhood groups to the patterns of the crimes and warning the public to be on alert.

According to police, the woman was at the north end of the lake near Wallingford Avenue North and Green Lake Drive North around 6:30 a.m. On Monday when a man grabbed her and tried to pull her into some nearby bushes.

The woman was able to fight the man off, and he ran northbound, according to police.

A bicyclist attempted to follow the man but lost him in the neighborhood.

Officers arrived on the scene but were unable to find the alleged attacker.

According to police, the woman was shaken up but not hurt. She was unable to provide a detailed description of the man.

"I think it's alarming, but it's also not surprising," said Britta Kallevang, who lives and runs in the area.

Monday morning's incident was the fourth attack on a woman in North Seattle in a four-day span. On Friday night, someone grabbed a woman while she was walking home near Northgate Mall.

The victim said a thin man with bad teeth pulled her into the bushes. She fought back as he sexually assaulted her.

Just before 1:30 a.m. On Sunday, a woman was attacked shortly after she left Lenny's Place in the 2200 block of North 56th Street. She told police she noticed a man watching her as she left the bar. When she noticed the same man following her, the woman began running, but the man caught up with her and knocked her to the ground.

The woman fought back and the man eventually gave up on his attack and ran way, according to police. She suffered minor injuries.

She described her attacker as a thin white male in his late 20′s, 5'9″ tall, 160 pounds with short brown hair and was last seen wearing a red plaid shirt and blue jeans.

On Sunday night, a different woman was able to fight off a would-be kidnapper who tried to pull her into a van less than a mile away from where the victim was attacked Monday morning.

Police say it is unusual to have so many similar incidents in four days, but they don't know if the attacks are connected.

Despite the recent string of attacks, many in the area say they still feel safe.

"You don't go into areas where there's a lot of bushes. The parks here, for the most part, they cut underneath so you can see if there's somebody around, so I feel safe," said Christine Ellin of Ballard.

Police posted a number of safety tips online in response to the attacks. The big one is to make sure you're not distracted when you're walking. They say you shouldn't text, check email or listen to music while you run or walk.