Four boys, including a 12-year-old, were arrested following an armed carjacking and police chase Tuesday morning that wound through Bellevue, according to police.
The other three boys are 14, police said.
Bellevue police were notified by a Seattle police captain shortly after 9:30 a.m. that a Hyundai Elantra that had been reported stolen was spotted in the Phantom Lake area of Bellevue. While attempting to pull the car over, the driver drove down a dead-end street and fled from the car, a Bellevue police spokesperson said.
Bellevue officers arrived and located the abandoned car. At the same time, a nearby resident called 911 about a suspicious person in her backyard. Officers arrested the 12-year-old boy.
As more officers arrived on the scene at Phantom Lake, they spotted a black Dodge Charger that had been involved in an armed carjacking in Renton earlier that day, the spokesperson said. The victim told police two of the suspects had what appeared to be semi-automatic handguns, according to police. Police determined the four boys drove the stolen Hyundai to the scene of the carjacking, before splitting off separately in the two vehicles.
When police tried to pull the Dodge over, the driver sped off. The driver wound through the city of Bellevue, from Phantom Lake up north to Lakemont, police said. The car was driven quickly and blew out a tire before ending up at a trailhead near Newcastle Golf Course Road, where the three occupants tried to abandon the car.
One of the boys, 14, was arrested in the car and the other two fled into the woods before being tracked down and surrendering shortly after 10 a.m., according to police.
All four boys are in custody and both cars were recovered.
