What Happened in Bellingham on Sunday, May 17th, 2026
Yesterday in Bellingham, police responded to 29 incidents, up 61% from 18 the day before. 3 violent crimes were reported, and officers made 7 arrests.
The most common incident type was Disorderly Behavior (Non-Physical), accounting for 7 of 29 reports (24% of total). The most active neighborhood was Meridian with 6 incidents.
Activity was roughly in line with the 30-day average of 30 incidents per day.
Incident Categories
Yesterday, Bellingham reported incidents across 8 categories. Disorderly Behavior (Non-Physical) led with 7 incidents (24% of total), followed by Driving Under the Influence with 4 and Suspicious Circumstance with 3.
Harassment — up 300% over the past 7 days (4 incidents this week vs 1 the prior week).
Incident Category Breakdown
Overview
Violent Crime
3 violent crimes were reported in Bellingham yesterday, accounting for 10% of all incidents. This is up 50% from the prior day.
| Time | Offense | Neighborhood | Block |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02:25 | ASSAULT - Misdemeanor | Downtown | 200 E Chestnut St |
| 02:28 | BURGLARY | Cornwall Park | 2400 Meridian St |
| 13:18 | ASSAULT - Felony | Happy Valley | 2400 Donovan Ave |
Arrests
Bellingham police made 7 arrests yesterday, involving 7 individuals. 1 arrest was related to violent incidents.
Arrests accounted for 24% of all incidents. Of the 7 arrests, 4 were Driving Under the Influence, 1 was Assault — Misdemeanor, and 1 was Warrant Arrest. This is down 12% from the 8 arrests the prior day.
| Time | Offense | Neighborhood | Block |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01:43 | DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE | Downtown | 1200 Block of Railroad Ave |
| 02:06 | DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE | York | 1300 Block of N Forest St |
| 02:25 | ASSAULT - MisdemeanorViolent | Downtown | 200 Block of E Chestnut St |
| 02:39 | WARRANT ARREST | Meridian | 100 Block of E Mcleod Rd |
| 09:13 | TRESPASS | Sehome | 1200 Block of N Forest St |
| View All | |||
Neighborhood Activity
Yesterday, incidents were reported across 14 neighborhoods in Bellingham. Meridian had the highest activity with 6 incidents, followed by Downtown with 4 and Sehome with 3.
Explore all neighborhoods and their trends in Bellingham Neighborhood Safety. →
Hourly Breakdown
Activity in Bellingham yesterday peaked between 2 AM – 3 AM with 5 incidents during that hour. The quietest period was 12am with no incidents reported.
Overnight (12–6 AM) saw 6 incidents, morning (6 AM–12 PM) had 6, afternoon (12–6 PM) had 9, and evening (6 PM–12 AM) had 8. Afternoon was the busiest period overall.
Sundays in Bellingham typically average 32 incidents. Yesterday's total of 29 is 3 incidents below that 8-week average (9% lower).
How Does This Compare?
The 7-day rolling average is 27.6 incidents per day, below the 30-day average of 30.2 — suggesting a quieter-than-normal stretch.
Key Patterns
Suspicious Circumstance Up 150% This Week
Suspicious Circumstance incidents have risen sharply: 15 in the past 7 days compared to 6 the prior 7 days — a 150% increase. Today alone saw 3 suspicious circumstance incidents.
Full Incident Log
This log contains all 29 incidents posted on BPD Activity Reports on Sunday, May 17th, 2026.
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