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The fast-food joint in downtown Seattle has seen stabbings, drug use, and even a shooting
Rachel Dobkin in New York Saturday 17 January 2026 17:36 GMT- Bookmark
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A McDonald’s in downtown Seattle has banned indoor dining by barring the doors and creating an improvised takeout window.
The fast-food joint on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Pine Street has seen stabbings, drug use, and even a shooting in which a woman was killed and seven others, including a child, were injured in January 2020.
“I watched a girl get shot and killed right here,” Nick, a 45-year-old who used to do drugs in the area, told the Daily Mail. “It was a horrible shooting.”
The McDonald’s, which is located in an area called The Blade, had initially closed its dining room in 2020 to comply with Covid-19 protocols, David Santillanes, the local McDonald’s restaurant owner and operator, confirmed to The Independent, but it has remained shuttered to keep its workers safe as the community grapples with crime and poverty.
Now, the restaurant's doors are covered in plywood, and there’s a makeshift hatch where customers can order their food, according to a photo taken by the Daily Mail. Plexiglass covers most of the top portion of the hatch, leaving a small opening where employees can hand customers their food and receive payment.
open image in galleryA McDonald’s in downtown Seattle has banned indoor dining by barring the doors and creating an improvised takeout window (Google Earth)“They do drugs and attack each other,” Nick said of the people who loiter outside the restaurant. “When it’s dark, it’s way worse — way more people getting assaulted and robbed.”
One McDonald’s employee told the Daily Mail that he’s also seen “some physical assaults” on the sidewalk outside the food joint.
One Seattle police officer told the publication that he’s seen three stabbings in front of the McDonald’s since the year began. It has been nicknamed “McStabby’s” by locals, according to the Daily Mail.
Last year, there were 3,145 aggravated assaults, nearly 1,440 robberies, more than 380 cases of rape and about 30 murders in Seattle, according to the police department. So far this year, there've been 80 cases of violent crime, including about 50 aggravated assaults.
open image in galleryThe fast-food joint in downtown Seattle has seen stabbings, drug use, and even a shooting (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)Santillanes told The Independent, “As a small business owner here in Seattle for 24 years, my team and I care deeply about feeding and serving this community.
“We have implemented security measures at this location to allow us to keep supporting the neighborhood, while ensuring the safety of our people. Despite the challenges in this particular area, we will continue doing what we can to effect positive change, working in close partnership with local community organizations.”
Santillanes and his team are doing what they can to help their community.
During the grand opening of Santillanes’ Seattle Center McDonald’s location, his team presented a $25,000 check to Mary’s Place, a nonprofit that helps unhoused mothers and children in Seattle.
open image in galleryDavid Santillanes, the local McDonald’s restaurant owner and operator, said he and his team ‘care deeply about feeding and serving this community’ (Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty Images)Out of all the states, Washington had the third-highest population of people experiencing homelessness in 2024, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
As for law enforcement’s role in the community, the Seattle Police Department told The Independent that officers patrol the city, especially downtown, “on a 24/7 basis.”
“Seattle police officers often do proactive policework and emphasis patrols in crime hotspots such as 3rd Avenue and Pine Street – including bike patrols, foot beats, warrant arrests, weapons arrests, and drug enforcement – when not responding to emergency calls for service,” the department said.
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