Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Seattle Man Charged With Attempted Murder in Northgate Light-Rail Platform Shove

A court-ordered competency review now steers the case after prior incompetency findings.

Overview

  • The Northgate station shove, which happened March 19, sent Peter Michael Walbrun teetering as a train pulled in but he caught himself.
  • Surveillance video shows the assailant waited for the train to arrive, shoved the victim, then tried a second push before fleeing.
  • Detectives used CCTV from the station area to identify 26-year-old Elisio Melendez and arrested him March 24 at a nearby behavioral health facility.
  • Prosecutors filed an attempted second-degree murder charge March 26, and jail records show Melendez is held on $750,000 bail.
  • A judge ordered a competency evaluation that is now underway, and records show a 2019 case against Melendez was dismissed after he was found not competent and later civilly committed before a 2022 release.