UPDATE 2: There are pictures of three persons of interest related to Danny Vega’s beating. Also, Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest and charge of this crime. Read more here.
UPDATE: Seattle Mayor McGinn says police are “fully investigating” the possibility that a popular Rainier Valley salon owner was targeted because he was gay.
McGinn released this statement:
Our police department’s Homicide and Assault Unit are actively investigating this crime. Some have suggested that Mr. Vega’s killers targeted him because he was an openly gay man. The police department is fully investigating this possibility. Anyone with any information about Mr. Vega’s killers should call police at 206-233-5000. Anonymous calls are welcome. My condolences go to his family, his friends, and those in the community who knew him.
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Originally posted Monday, Nov. 28
Yesterday, Danny Vega, the owner of Danny Vega’s Hair Design in Rainier Valley, died at 11:20 a.m. He was 58. He had been in a coma since Nov. 15, when he was attacked by three young Black men at night on Othello Street in Seattle.
Vega lost consciousness when the three men attacked him and stole his cellphone and keys. Vega was able to walk home, where he called the police. He was then taken to Harborview, where he fell into a coma. He spent 12 days on life support.
Vega was a prominent member of the Filipino American community. The police are not investigating the attack as a hate crime, but Vega’s family believes he was targeted, as he was openly gay, according to KING-TV.
Police are still looking for Vega’s attackers. Anyone with information should call the Seattle Police Homicide and Assault Unit at 206-233-5000. Callers can remain anonymous.
INFO: SPD Blotter