Police are investigating a rash of armed robberies in neighborhoods in upper northwest D.C.
“I was terrified,” a 23-year-old victim said. “My first thought was that I was going to be raped or killed.”
About 6:30 p.m. Sunday, the 23-year-old was returning home from the grocery store with a bag in each hand when she was jumped and robbed in an alley.
“He had me in a chokehold, and when I kind of screamed out in surprise, he had a partner who put a gun in my face and told me to be quiet,” she said. “The fellow with the gun grabbed my purse off my arm, told me to let go of it.”
Another victim was robbed Tuesday night on Livingston Street across the street from a playground. About 9 p.m., she too was on her way home when a gunman jumped from behind a bush.
“So he kind of came up close and yelled, ‘Don’t move. Give me everything you have. Give me everything you got,’” the victim said. “So I gave him my briefcase.”
Since the beginning of the year, there have been seven similar robberies in the second police district. They usually involved two suspects armed with a gun between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
They also take cell phones to keep victims from immediately calling police.
“We have increased our uniform patrol and our tactical deployment,” Cmdr. Michael Reese said. “We are in constant communication with other bordering patrol districts as well as Montgomery County.”
The second district isn’t the only district experiencing a rash of armed robberies. Since Jan. 1 in the fourth district, there have been 14 armed robberies and two carjackings.
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