Shocking moment gang of five beat, kick and rob man at a DC gas station amid spike in crime in the nation's capitol
Surveillance footage caught the shocking moment five men robbed a victim at a Washington D.C. gas station.
The assault reportedly began shortly after 11 p.m. on July 24, when three men, one of whom is on a bike, surrounded a victim in front of a car parked at the station.
The video, released by the Metropolitan Police Department on Monday, showed the victim trying to walk away, when one of the suspects, wearing a gray backpack grabbed him from behind.
A conspirator joined the fray and tried to reach into the victim's pants pockets, while the first man, with the backpack, pushed him down.
Surveillance footage released by the Metropolitan Police Department shows three men approach a victim, seemingly in an argument with him
As the victim tried to walk away, one of the suspects could be seen grabbing him from behind
Another man then seems to get involved, rummaging through the victim's pockets
The first suspect then pulls the man backwards, forcing him onto the ground
The suspects started repeatedly kicking the victim, before they were joined by a fourth and fifth, who appeared to rob the victim as well.
After seemingly getting what they wanted, the men were seen leaving the victim on the ground, as one of them appeared to yell back at him, and the suspect in the green shirt gave him one final kick before leaving the scene.
The Metropolitan Police Department is now asking for anyone with information about the attack to call (202) 727 - 9099.
They continued their assault as the driver of the car they were arguing in front of drives away
Eventually, two others seem to join in the apparent assault
When they apparently got what they wanted, they fled the scene
The robbery reportedly occurred just two days after two men opened fire on diners outside a restaurant in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington D.C., and one week after a baseball game between the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres was suspended after a shooting just outside the stadium, which saw one bystander caught in the crossfire and injured.
The day before that, a 6-year-old girl as shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in the Congress Heights neighborhood of the nation's capitol.
Nyiah Courtney's parents were both wounded in the shooting, along with three others.
Police have said her father is a suspected member of a local drug gang and may have been targeted. They arrested Marktwen Hargraves, 22, in the shooting just last week, and charged him with murder.
Six-year-old Nyiah Courtney was shot and killed on July 16 in a drive-by shooting in Congress Heights, in the south of the city. On Wednesday police announced the arrest of Marktwan Hargraves, who has been charged with her murder
A memorial for Nyiah Courtney is seen in Washington DC, where she was shot on July 16
In total, homicides and robberies are up this year, when compared to the same time last year.
According to Metropolitan Police Department statistics, the city has seen a 3 percent increase in robberies, with a 20 percent increase in motor vehicle thefts and a slight uptick in the number of thefts from automobiles - 4,686 reported as of Wednesday in 2021, compared to 4,666 over the same time period in 2020.
Homicides, meanwhile, are up slightly, with 112 reported this year, compared to 110 reported during the same time period last year, when homicides reached a 16-year high in the city.
The number of shootings is also set to outpace the rate of last year, when 198 shootings were reported.
To combat this rise in crime, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last week she has requested an additional $11million from the City Council to pay for the hiring and training of 20 additional officers in the 2021 financial year, and 150 additional officers in 2022.
With U.S. Capitol seen in the background, a member of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department guards the scene of a shooting outside the Nationals Park on July 17
Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington DC, is seeking to increase the police force by 170 officers, she announced on Wednesday
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) normally hires 250 officers each year, but last year the DC Council decided to defund the police to the tune of $15million - to the disapproval of the mayor.
She said that, amid the rising crime, she told the MPD to make officers work overtime - but said that more needed to be done in the long term.
'Right now, I have directed MPD to use any overtime necessary to meet our public safety demands,' Bowser said in a statement on July 29.
'But we know that is not a complete solution or the right long-term solution.
'We also know we need all of our officers to be fresh, rested, and in the best position to make good decisions – and that requires having a full force to meet all of our community's needs.
'The department is in a good position to make additional hires and move swiftly to close the gap between attrition and hiring, and that's what this plan is going to help us do.'
'The Purge: DC Edition'
ReplyDeleteI am shocked! Shocked, I say! Since when did our African brothers decide it was acceptable to take part in violent crime?! This hitherto unknown trend is obviously something new and dangerous caused by the Evil White Man and Donald Trump!
ReplyDelete