Man Threatened with Knife for Speaking Spanish

Si no quieres una puñalada, necesitas hablar en inglés, dijo un hermano cerca de Pioneer Square en el 12 de junio.

OK, my Spanish is rough, but you get the idea (maybe).

A man told police he was threatened with a knife by a man in his late 20s because the victim and a friend were having a conversation in Spanish, according to the police report.

The two were standing at 2nd Ave and Yesler around 3:45 p.m. June 12, smoking cigarettes and having a conversation in Spanish. A black male the victim said they didn't know approached and began to yell at them to stop speaking Spanish and start speaking English, according to the report. The victim and the suspect began arguing, and the suspect pulled out a knife and held it to the victim's abdomen.

The victim backed away, afraid he would be cut, and the three dispersed without further incident.

When police were interviewing the victim, he spotted the suspect on the other side of the street. Police arrested the suspect, but were unable to locate any weapons on his person. They did, however, find a debit card that had been reported stolen in April.