A wide field of candidates has stepped forward to represent Northwest Spokane on the Spokane City Council.

A woman who police said tried to rob a pedestrian at knifepoint in downtown Palo Alto on Tuesday afternoon was arrested later in the day after she walked into the police station to discuss an unrelated investigation. Yarissa Guadalupe Ramirez, 20, of Redwood City, was arrested after police used surveillance footage to identify her as the suspect in an armed robbery that occurred on University Avenue at about 1:30 p.m. The arrest was made easier by the fact that she came to the station at about 6:30 p.m. to cooperate on what police called an “unrelated, entirely separate investigation.” While at the station for that incident, details of which are not being disclosed, officers arrested her for the armed robbery. Palo Alto police learned about the robbery at about 2:40 p.m., after receiving a call from the victim, a woman in her 30s. She told police that she walking east on University Avenue, near Waverley Street, when she was approached by a woman holding a pocketknife with its blade exposed, police said. The woman with the knife reportedly told her to hand over the cellphone she was holding. The victim declined to do so and told a man who was passing by about the attempted robbery, police said. The passerby, who has not been identified, reportedly interceded, stepped between the two women, told the woman with the cellphone to walk away and confronted the woman with the knife, police said. When the woman with the knife tried to walk around him and get to the victim, he pushed her away, police said. The woman with the knife then walked away north on Waverley Street, away from University Avenue, police said. The woman with the cellphone, meanwhile, went to a nearby coffee shop and emailed the Stanford Department of Public Safety, which directed her to the Palo Alto police. Police said she called the police at about 2:40 p.m., roughly an hour after the robbery, and provided a description of the suspect. Police then reportedly canvassed the area for surveillance footage from nearby businesses. They found a video showing the incident and were able to identify Ramirez as the suspect. Police are not releasing the video to the public. Police also are not saying which incident prompted Ramirez to come to the police station at about 6:30 p.m. But while at the station, she was arrested for the attempted robbery and booked in the Santa Clara County Main Jail. Anyone with information about this incident, or knowledge of the identity of the male passerby, is asked to call the department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. ## Support more reporting like this DONATE TODAY For over 45 years, the Palo Alto Weekly has delivered independent, community-focused journalism. Your donation helps our reporters continue covering the stories that matter most. #### Most Popular Department of Education investigates Palo Alto Unified over student survey20 hours ago Severed finger prompts suit at Palo Alto skating rink17 hours ago Around Town: Aiding a billionaire, a pivot on housingOctober 25, 2026 6:52 am

**Getting yourTrinity Audio player ready...** --- The suspect in Wednesday’s shooting in south Palo Alto had told friends he was affiliated with the Hispanic Nortenos gang, Palo Alto police said today (Thursday). Police have identified the suspect as Daniel Gil-Fernandez, 19, a resident of Palo Alto, and are searching for him. The unidentified victim, 20, of San Jose is reported in stable condition following emergency surgery at Stanford Hospital. Gil-Fernandez is described as an Hispanic male, 190 pounds, about 6 feet, possibly wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, possibly armed. Police believe he has left the area. Police Agent Dan Ryan said officers believe the two knew each other and “there was some gang involvement for sure on the part of the suspect.” He said an argument may have preceded the shooting. He said Gil-Fernandez has told others he is a member of the Nortenos gang. The victim, 20, a San Jose resident who recently moved to Palo Alto, was shot in the torso and groin area with a small-caliber handgun, Ryan said. He said eight shots were fired, however. The victim’s name is not being released, Ryan said, while police arrange protection for his family. When police arrived, the victim “was conscious but not cooperative with police,” Ryan said. The victim was found at Maybell Avenue and El Camino shortly after 3 p.m., but police were dispatched to the 65-unit Arastradero Park Apartments, which extends from Arastradero to Maybell. Fire Department paramedics were dispatched to the scene at 3:16 p.m. and transported the victim to the hospital. By shortly after 4 p.m., after they had entered and searched an apartment in the building, police were letting people into the apartment-building complex, including several Gunn High School students who arrived during the blockade. Terman Middle School, Gunn High School and Juana Briones and Barron Park elementary school were ordered into precautionary-lockdown mode shortly after 4 p.m. A game that was underway in the Terman gymnasium was terminated as parents arrived to pick up their children, according to Assistant Superintendent Scott Laurence. Sometime before 5 p.m. police used the city’s telephone dial-up alert system to notify residents in the area. Police are seeking witnesses to the shooting to help them figure out the sequence and circumstances of the incident. Before 4 p.m. a 21-year-old man was taken into custody, handcuffed, questioned and released. He told the Weekly that it was his apartment that was searched and he feared his younger brother, 19, may have been involved in something. “He’s gone — we believe he’s left the area,” Ryan said, adding that there is no vehicle linked to the suspect. Police located and tagged bullet casings at the far end of the complex, near the back entrance at Maybell. Ryan said police believe that’s where the shooting occurred and that the victim ran to Maybell and El Camino, past the Walgreen’s drug store at the corner, where police and paramedics found him. One witness said he saw the victim sitting on the sidewalk before police and paramedics arrived. View the press release (PDF) Daniel Gil-Fernandez ## Support more reporting like this DONATE TODAY For over 45 years, the Palo Alto Weekly has delivered independent, community-focused journalism. Your donation helps our reporters continue covering the stories that matter most. #### Most Popular Department of Education investigates Palo Alto Unified over student surveyOctober 26, 2026 3:10 pm Severed finger prompts suit at Palo Alto skating rinkOctober 26, 2026 5:50 pm East Palo Alto councilmember caught messaging developer before policy vote7 hours ago

Laws serve as essential frameworks for societal order and protection. They establish standards and prevent abuse, ensuring that communities function smoothly. However, it’s interesting to note that there are rare and intriguing places where laws are either absent or minimally enforced, creating environments that starkly contrast with the orderly societies most people are accustomed to. So, here’s a look at some of the most fascinating and dangerous places where the rule of law is notably absent.

These are the transformations of my political mind throughout my college years writing for the newspaper. Every debate I ever lost was worth the pain.

The plan for civilian police scanners to go dark pushed a host to shut down his popular breaking news feed.

Asha Weinstein Agrawal: What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options to Support Public Transit, Highways, and Local Streets and Roads?

President Donald Trump has, for some reason, buying a 10 percent stock in the troubled chipmaker Intel, a bizarre move that seems to suggest he agrees with at least some aspects of socialist doctrine. In a press release, the once-dominant chipmaker announced that the US government is purchasing $8.9 billion in company stock to "support the continued expansion of American technology and manufacturing leadership." "As more companies look to invest in America, this administration remains committed

Federal ownership of private companies has become routine. And it is happening on the right, even as conservatives point fingers at the left for its socialism.

MINOT, N.D. -- David Corum is the operator of the Gunslinger Grill in tiny Willow City, about 70 miles northeast of Minot.

MINOT, N.D. -- David Corum is the operator of the Gunslinger Grill in tiny Willow City, about 70 miles northeast of Minot.