An 80-year-old man sees teenagers spray painting the Ballard Bridge in broad daylight. He stops to record them on his phone. One of the teens, 17 years old, walks over and punches him multiple times , bloodying his lip and injuring his shoulder.

The kid knew he was being recorded.

Seattle police did excellent work. They gathered evidence, lifted fingerprints from spray cans, tracked down the suspect through social media tips, and arrested him at his high school Friday. Textbook investigation.

Then they drove him to the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center, which declined to book him . He was sent home with his mom.

He’s not alone. Recently, Seattle police arrested a teenage girl for felony vandalism after catching her spray painting a downtown business. Bla

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