Authorities say first reported incident happened on the 1,300 block of
Approximately 15 minutes later, another victim reportedly was assaulted during an attempted robbery on the 1,400 block on Irving Street, NW. Four suspects, one of whom was armed with a gun, approached the victim demanding money. The victim reported was struck in the head by another suspect before the group fled without taking anything from the victim. There was also another reported robbery on the 1,300 block of Irving Street, NW around 12:40 a.m. Saturday morning, where again two suspects robbed a man at gunpoint.
Also on Saturday, three suspects robbed a man just before 1 a.m. on the Meanwhile on Monday night, police say an man was shot in the hand around 10:30 p.m. on 11th Street and Columbia Road, NW during another attempted robbery. Police are also investigating an attempted robbery on the 1,300 block of Kenyon Street, NW just before 11:00 p.m.
Officers say the victim was punched in the head by the suspect after he chased his attacker. Officers say all of these crimes involve young men in their late teens to early 20's, and all targeted men travelling in the neighborhood alone. Police believe the robbers are going after targets of opportunity and not profiling.
Starting Tuesday night at sundown, D.C. police will deploy extra officers to patrol the neighborhood.
Some residents would like the MPD to use the 6 additional resources to create a "sting" operation, where one officer would pose as a robbery target, and others would stand by to intervene when the target was being robbed. Some people questioned whether this would be too dangerous for MPD officers.
In any case, we as neighborhood residents would like to see strong measures taken to prevent more such crimes. I ask that my fellow Columbia Heights residents stand ready to help the MPD with leads and information. I would also respectfully ask that the MPD keep the pressure on until the offenders are caught and prosecuted. A couple of weeks of additional patrols won't mean anything if three weeks from now there's another shooting, or even a killing.
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