Escalation of Violent Crimes Targeting Pedestrians
July 21, 2023 | District of Columbia
Attempted stick-ups turning into fatal shootings. Robbers ambushing victims on sidewalks. Small-time crooks making their first foray into felony crime with violent thefts.
No corner of the District has been spared from a surge of robberies taking place on busy commercial corridors and neighborhood blocks in recent weeks.
The number of holdups reported by the Metropolitan Police Department has exploded this year by nearly 60% as thieves brazenly confront citizens outside bars, public libraries and the victims’ own apartments.
“This young man from my home state was one of 10 people who were shot and killed in Washington during the first five days of this month, including a college student and an Afghan immigrant who had risked his life as an interpreter for the U.S. military,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said on the Senate floor last week. (Excerpt from The Washington Times.)
