Seattle day care owner calls for 'action on Jackson' after a bullet struck her business

Appollonia Washington was sitting with more than two dozen young children when a bullet shattered the front window of her day care, the A 4 Apple Learning Center, at the corner of 23rd Avenue and Jackson Street in Seattle's Central District.

"That shell landed right where my students and I were sitting," Washington told KUOW. "That could've been one of my students or myself; 3- to 5-year-olds, just enjoying their day."

Monday's drive-by shooting left one man outside the day care with multiple gunshot wounds. He is now in satisfactory condition, according to a UW Medicine spokesperson. The shooting reportedly stemmed from an altercation that broke out in a parking lot across the street.

The children and staff inside the learning center weren’t hurt. They knew exactly what to do because Washington had taught the kids to army crawl in the event of a fire. They all crawled into the center’s bathroom, where staff gave them drawing supplies and tried to go about a “normal” day. It was anything but normal, Washington said.

“The children don't know what happened. From what I've gathered from the parents, they all think that somebody threw a rock at their classroom window and the window broke,” she said Thursday morning, as she reopened the center to her students. “It's been more traumatic for us adults and me as a business owner, having to reassure my families, the adults, that we’re taking action.”

Really, Washington has been taking action for the last two years, albeit quietly.

She’s tried to get city leaders’ attention on the area around the learning center, she said. Little, if anything, changed — until now.

"It took a bullet to come through our learning center for everybody to be woke up,” she said. “And hey, if we have to be the models of this, we're going to have our voices heard. Because I do not want this to happen to another child care ever."

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell visited Washington’s day care after the shooting, promising to act. Police patrols have increased in the area. Washington said high school students and families who use the bus stop across the street have been able to wait there without being harassed for the first time in her memory — all in the few days after the shooting.

Washington and her community want long-term solutions, though. In particular, Washington said she needs bulletproof windows for her business, and she wants the city to install them; they’re expensive.

She said she wants the city’s leaders to hear her community’s collective voice.

More than 50 people in the Central District gathered at the learning center Thursday night, making that voice heard and demanding change. Washington had hoped Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz would be there to speak to the crowd, but in a follow-up email to KUOW, Washington said neither Diaz nor anyone from Harrell’s office went to the meeting.

Celine Justice and her 2-year-old daughter, Soleil, were there. Soleil was inside the learning center during the shooting.

“She's so young,” Justice said. “She really didn't know what happened. But she said, when she came home, ‘Mama, mama, there's a hole in my school, mama. We have to fix my school.’”

Justice said she wants private property owners, like the one that owns the parking lot where the shooting reportedly originated, to do more to secure their property. She also wants more police in the area, more city dollars invested in the neighborhood, cameras, and for the Seattle Police Department to provide community-based solutions to solve long-term issues.

The key is “community” for neighbors like Justice and Washington.

Washington grew up in the Central District. She owns her home there as well as the learning center. Her mother was adamant they stay in the Central District when they became business partners, and they want to open a second location in the area.

“We landed here, right here on 23rd. I could have easily went on 18th,” Washington said. “This is my community. I want to continue to give good-quality care, but I also want my community to feel safe to be able to bring their children here.”

And she wants to believe the city will come through for the neighborhood now — in part, because she said she has a paper trail of unheeded emails going back years that can show how leaders have “failed” them thus far.

“We shouldn't feel like that because it's a beautiful area. It's beautiful, and it can be even better if we can work as a community to put some plans in place to make sure this is a safer environment for all,” she said. “That's all I've been asking for, silently. But now, we're here. We need action on Jackson.”

Not only for A 4 Apple Learning Center, she added, but also for other businesses in the community and others who may think twice about moving into the Central District because of issues like this. It may even be difficult to ask families to stick with her center, though Celine Justice said she isn’t going anywhere.

“Miss Apple, all the teachers at A 4 Apple, they were stellar, remarkable teachers and caregivers,” Justice said, using a nickname the families have for Appollonia Washington. “It’s not their fault what’s happening. We need the city to step up and protect our children and our community right now.”

People in the Central District aren't alone in their concerns. Crime is a much bigger issue for Seattle voters this year than it was in 2021 when Harrell was elected, according to a recent poll.

While some of the officials Justice and her neighbors think should take accountability did not show for the community meeting at A 4 Apple, King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay did and he apologized to Washington.

“You made it your mission to bring joy and education and happiness to young people every day,” he said. “And instead, you were met with terror.”

Zahilay offered several possible solutions for the neighborhood: to stop shootings before they happen by funding more community resources and services; to support the community with more case managers who can respond to cases like this; and to put “all hands on deck,” including city and county officials.

He concluded with a challenge for the people of the Central District: “Don't let this be the last time that you all come out here and hold us accountable.”