A notorious graffiti tag that has been spotted in several Seattle neighborhoods has turned up in Lynnwood.
The letters ZEB have been sprayed in prominent locations in Capitol Hill, Ballard, Belltown, Queen Anne, Magnolia, Wallingford, the U-District, South Lake Union and SODO.
Now it’s also been sprayed behind the strip mall that houses Celtic Bayou, Grocery Outlet and Sports Authority near 196th and 44th. Other graffiti that was on the building has been painted over, but this was on a fence so it’s not as easy to remove.
In vandalism cases such as these, police agencies work together to track down the taggers. “LPD does currently track all of these as they are reported and each department’s gang unit share information constantly — including Seattle PD,” police spokesperson Shannon Sessions told us.
Police don’t know what the letters ZEB mean but they think multiple people are responsible because of the different styles. There have been a few arrests so far, including a 21-year-old man who was arrested earlier this month near the Seattle waterfront, bailed out, then was arrested again in Portland. Two teenagers were also arrested earlier in Belltown.
There's been some comments on other neighborhood blogs that posting the photos only gives the vandals the attention they seek. While I see the validity of that argument, I believe a greater good is served by posting the photos. The more people who know about this tag and are watching out for it, the greater likelihood there is of catching the vandals.
Mike Murphy
Lynnwood Today editor
You do realize this makes them think they’re cooler, now that you made ZEB’s name more famous. As a citizen of Lynnwood it is out duty to keep the city save, and cared for and i strongly believe this should not have been posted. I do not believe we should encourage them.