Seattle Guitar Center Robbers Halted By Rush Hour Traffic

SEATTLE, WA - The heavy traffic along the Mercer Street "Mercer mess" in South Lake Union is known for thwarting the commutes of thousands of drivers daily. Now it's known for maybe thwarting a robbery.

For whatever reason, three people on Wednesday decided to rob the South Lake Union Guitar Center at the peak of rush hour. And they chose to escape in two different vehicles, and they chose to escape down clogged Mercer Street.

They only made it to the intersection of Dexter Avenue, about three block east of the Guitar Center. Seattle police reported that the robbers began chasing each other in their cars until they crashed, backing up traffic even worse on Mercer.

That's not all: after crashing, one of the robbers pulled out a machete and threatened his co-conspirator. Then that robber pulled a gun on the robber holding the machete. That's when Seattle police arrived and arrested the two robbers. The third, a woman, was also arrested.

The robbers snatched a guitar from the Guitar Center worth an estimated $1,600. Police returned the instrument to the store.

Image via SDOT