Swimming pool installed in Seattle homeless encampment
Diane Radischat, who lives in a senior facility nearby, expresses her outrage with the homeless encampment
Residents in a senior facility in Seattle, Washington are living in fear as a nearby homeless encampment filled with guns and drugs continues to expand, now boasting an inflatable swimming pool.
Diane Radischat, who lives in the Highland Park neighborhood complex, expressed outrage Friday, telling "Fox & Friends First" the problem has been escalating for years without being addressed.
"We've had homeless encampments over the years across the street where this one is located, but nothing like this," Radischat, describing trees being knocked down to build structures. "They're destroying the land."
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Arrowhead Gardens residents told KOMO News they are regularly startled by gunfire erupting from the encampment. Footage obtained by the outlet also shows a woman sitting on a couch next to the large blow-up pool smoking what appears to be fentanyl.
"[Residents] are now afraid to go out at night," Radischat said. "The daytime sometimes is not much better. We've never had issues with guns before. This is a constant issue with guns with the present occupants."
The encampment was able to obtain water for the pool by blocking a fire hydrant and breaking into it, according to Radischat.
"They're still having to fill very large containers and drag it to the pool to fill it, but they managed to do it," she said.
"These people come in and totally trash the place," Highland Park resident Herb Egge told KOMO News after learning about the swimming pool. (KOMO News)
The Washington Department of Transportation issued a statement Thursday on the complaints: "Our teams are working together to determine next steps to address the site and those living there unhoused. Resolution of the entire site won't start until we have identified adequate, viable housing and shelter resources for the individuals unsheltered at Myers Way."
Radischat called the response "absolutely outrageous" and said the city should have resolved housing for the homeless "long ago."
"Seniors are a protected group of people, and we don't feel like we've been protected," she argued. "We feel unsafe in our own homes. We've lived our life and paid our taxes and we should be able to relax and enjoy our environment and our homes."
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Despite the risk, Radischat said she plans to stay.
"I believe we're going to resolve the issue. It's a human issue. These people need housing. There are many things that we need. We just need the people whose job it is to clear this encampment to actually do their job."
Fox News' Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report