Bellevue mom, son attacked by Craigslist "seller"

An ad on Craigslist for a used 2001 Honda Accord for sale in Tacoma seemed almost too good to be true. A Bellevue mother and son discovered that it was.

Late Monday night, the mother and son responded to the online posting advertising the car for sale by a seller at an apartment complex in the 1700 block of South 84th Street, near South Tacoma's Fern Hill area.

When they arrived, there was no car, Tacoma Police Sgt. Mark Fulghum said. But the pair did find a man with a hammer, waiting to rob them. Fulghum said the prospective buyers in an earlier conversation with the seller had negotiated the sales price down from $5,000 to $3,600, and had agreed to pay in cash.

As they met at the Waterfall Apartments and shook hands, about 10:30 p.m., the man pulled out the hammer and attacked, Fulghum said. The man struck the son twice in the head, and the mother three times, the victims reported. Moments later, the attacker gave up and fled. Police later found his hammer nearby.

Police do not believe the attacker lived at the complex.

The identities of the mother and son were not disclosed. They suffered only minor injuries.

Charles E. Brown: 206-464-2206 or cbrown@seattletimes.com