Boys, 12 and 14, charged with armed robbery

A 12-year-old boy was charged Tuesday with first-degree robbery after police say he walked into a North Seattle gas station, pointed a gun at a clerk and demanded cash.

The boy, who was armed with a BB gun, and another boy, 14, then fled from the 76 station in the 8400 block Aurora Avenue North on Thursday and ran to nearby Wilson Pacific/Interagency School, where both are students.

The 14-year-old also was charged with robbery. The Times is not naming the youths because they are being charged as juveniles.

According to court charging papers, the younger boy walked into the store around 11 a.m. while the second youth stayed at the front door, charging papers said.

The younger boy pulled out the BB gun and told the clerk to "open the cash register and get down on the ground," court papers said. When the cashier told the youth that he didn't know how to open the register, the 12-year-old said, "Open the cash register or I'll shoot you," the charging papers said.

The older boy then urged the younger boy to leave and the two fled, court papers said. The 12-year-old ordered a customer in the store to the floor before he left.

After the incident, a Seattle police officer saw the older boy running to Wilson Pacific school. The school, which is also home to the Seattle School District's Home School Resource Center and the American Indian Heritage Middle College, was locked down for about 55 minutes after the holdup.

The gas-station cashier later identified the 14-year-old as the one who waited at the door, charging papers said.

An employee at the gas station declined to comment on the holdup Tuesday.

Police showed a school administrator the gas-station surveillance video and the administrator identified the younger boy as a student, charging documents said.

A spokesman for the Seattle School District declined to comment on the two youths and the criminal case.

The boys are scheduled to be arraigned in juvenile court this morning. While it doesn't appear that the younger boy has a criminal history, the older youth was arrested for investigation of theft earlier this year but the case was dismissed.

Wilson Pacific/Interagency School is designed to help middle- and high-school students who have been suspended or expelled from their regular schools to continue their academic classes with the goal of helping them transition back to a regular school environment, according to the district.

Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com