A man posing as a cable company employee stole two cellphones from the parents of D.C. mayoral candidate Muriel Bowser.
Bowser told News4's Mark Segraves that her parents, Joseph and Joan Bowser, are "shaken up and angry" following Thursday's burglary at their home in the 4800 block of 7th Street NE.
According to a report from Metropolitan Police, a man rang the doorbell, addressed Bowser's father as "Mr. Joe" and told him that he was there from Comcast to upgrade the signal on a pole and reboot the televisions in their home.
Once he was allowed inside, the man went to the basement to reboot the television. When asked, he told Joseph Bowser the upgrades would cost $100. After he was told that he wasn't going to be paid, the man told the Bowsers that he had to go upstairs to unboot the televisions.
Joan Bowser followed the man to the master bedroom, but left the room after the suspect told her he needed her to turn on the home's computer. When she returned to the bedroom, she noticed that the man was gone, and so was her cellphone.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Joseph Bowser discovered that his cellphone had also been stolen from the living room.
Mayoral candidate @MurielBowser says her parents are "shaken up and angry" after being victims of fake cable guy. — Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) July 11, 2014
"Having your home, your place of sanctuary, violated is one of the worst things that can happen to you," said Bowser in a statement Friday. "Thankfully, both of my parents are safe, although a bit shaken."
Police say the Bowsers weren't the only victims of the fake cable worker. They said the same man posed as a cable worker to enter a home in the 1000 block of Crittenden Street NE that same day.
"This just goes to show that we all need to stay vigilant and ask for identification when someone we do not know, or did not expect, knocks on our door," Bowser said.
Anyone who recognizes the man in the surveillance video below should contact police at 202-727-9099 or by texting a tip to 50411.
Bowser announced her candidacy for mayor from the front porch of her parent's home last year. She and her siblings were raised in the North Michigan Park home.
