Burglars armed with bear spray and tactical gear invaded Macklemore’s Seattle home, attacking a woman and stealing jewelry and other items.
SEATTLE — KING 5 has verified that Macklemore’s Seattle residence was broken into over the weekend by individuals armed with bear spray and clad in face masks, gloves, and what appeared to be tactical vests.
According to a police report, two men entered the house just after midnight on Saturday. It was not mentioned in the report if Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, was present during the break-in.
A woman at the home was sprayed with bear mace and three children were sleeping early Saturday when the break-in occurred.
The taller individual appeared to lead the operation, as stated in a Seattle police report, and instructed the shorter individual to “spray her.” The smaller suspect then sprayed her face with a substance later identified by police as bear mace.
The taller one yelled at the woman, “where are the jewels, b****?” before the shorter man pulled her up from the floor and led her around the house.
They had her show them where the valuables were in the residence, stopping to search through drawers, cabinets and closets before placing jewelry, watches and shoes into bags, the police report said.
Later, the shorter one threw her to the ground at the taller one’s command, at one point putting a boot on her neck and taking her phone. When she started to scream, they got her up, pinned her to a wall and tried to cover her mouth. However, she bit one of the man’s hands and was able to run out of the house through a bathroom.
The woman knocked on neighbors’ doors until one answered and let her inside to call police.
Responding police cleared the residents and safely removed the children, who were unharmed. Responding officers described “obvious signs of disarray” and bear spray “still present in the air” in certain parts of the house.
Surveillance footage obtained by police showed the woman’s escape from the house followed later by movement near the back door and fence, according to the report. Near that area where movement was seen, police found bear spray and an item of clothing.
A passerby also told a responding officer that they saw a man wearing all black running westbound through yard north of the burglarized house.
Police said the woman who escaped the house had orange spray visible on her neck, cuts on her hand from knocking on the neighbor’s glass door, and blood on her pants from her hands or climbing over the gate on the private street the house is on.
