Seattle Crime Report

In the early hours of February 13, 2025, a Seattle man was arrested after allegedly starting a fire at an apartment building located at 1315 NE 47th Street. Responding to a call about a potential fire, officer Jeremy Weiss arrived at the scene to find smoldering debris and smoke filling the hallways. The suspect, identified as David Aaron Knight, was accused of igniting a pile of paper, plastic, and other trash, which quickly escalated to a blaze significant enough to catch part of the building’s entrance on fire.

Property manager Graham Ransom and witness Michael Klebeck both described seeing Knight loitering and using narcotics at the building’s entrance. Klebeck took measures to extinguish the initial flames but could not prevent the fire from spreading into the building. The Seattle Fire Department later arrived on site to manage the situation.

Knight was found nearby, attempting to enter another building before he was apprehended by Officer David Foley. Upon arrest, Knight was found to have a torch lighter in his possession and had soot-covered hands, which stopped abruptly at his wrists where his coat sleeves began. Officer Foley noted that nearly matching the eyewitness accounts, Knight had commented nonsensically about being accused of starting the fire while allegedly doing nothing wrong.

Knight was subsequently arrested and booked into King County Jail for reckless burning, a charge that could endanger many lives and businesses in occupied buildings. Officer Weiss has collected evidence of the arson and damage, advising Ransom to provide a cost estimate for the incurred damages. The Seattle Police Department continues to investigate the motive behind Knight’s destructive actions.