'Bizarre' Seattle robbery, getaway attempted amid Mercer Mess rush-hour traffic jam

SEATTLE -- Seattle police on Wednesday described a "bizarre robbery" in which four people stole a guitar from a store, then crashed into each other in their getaway cars in rush-hour traffic and, finally, two of the armed suspects turned on each other.

Police said that just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, three men and a woman entered the Guitar Center store on Westlake Avenue, stole a $1,600 guitar and then fled in two separate cars.

"For reasons unknown, the suspects began chasing each other, causing a multi vehicle collision and grinding to a halt in Mercer (Street) traffic," police said in a news release. "One of the male suspects grabbed a machete and confronted another male suspect, jumping on the hood of his car. The other male suspect responded in kind by brandishing a gun."

Police arrested those two and also the female suspect. The third male suspect was able to escape on foot.

Officers recovered the stolen guitar.