Four juveniles were arrested last night after allegedly robbing and beating a man on a Metro bus.

According to Seattle Police, on Dec. 17, South Precinct officers responded to a reported robbery aboard a Metro bus at Renton Avenue South and South Henderson.  At 9:24 p.m., an officer was flagged down by the Metro driver who stated that one of his passengers had just been beaten up and robbed.  The victim had been sitting near the front of the bus, playing a video game on his iPhone.  When the bus was preparing to stop at Renton Avenue South and South Henderson, three black men and one black female began moving toward the front of the bus as if they were getting off. When they passed the victim, one of the suspects grabbed the victim’s phone from out of his hands and tried to run away. The victim tried to grab the phone back and struggled with the thief over it.  At that point, the other three began punching the victim in the face and head until he let go of his phone. The four attackers got off the bus and ran northbound on Renton Avenue South. 

As the officer was obtaining information from the victim and witnesses aboard the bus, another officer in the area located a possible suspect near 46th Avenue South and South Cloverdale Street, although he ran away before they could contact him. Officers quickly set up containment for a K-9 track.  An officer on containment in the 8400 block of 47th Avenue South observed a car with four teenagers in it, matching the physical and clothing description of the attackers. The car was stopped and the occupants detained.  Four of the five juveniles in the car were positively identified and arrested and booked into the Youth Services Center for Investigation of Robbery.  The iPhone was not recovered. 

The victim suffered some minor scrapes and bruising to his face, but declined medical treatment.

Robbery Unit detectives will be responsible for the follow up investigation.