As rising crime continues to beleaguer the nation’s capital in 2022, Washington, D.C., police have made arrests in three separate armed carjackings in the past week that were carried out by teenagers, including two as young as ages 13- and 14-years-old.
According to D.C. police, “On Monday, January 24, 2022, a 14-year-old juvenile male and a 13-year-old juvenile male, both of District Heights, MD, were arrested and charged with Armed Carjacking (Gun).” The alleged carjacking occurred at 11:20 am on Monday morning, and “the suspects approached the victim” while one “brandished a handgun and the victim fled from their vehicle.”
“The suspects were apprehended by responding officers and a handgun was recovered,” according to a statement.
Last Thursday, D.C. police arrested two 15 year olds in relation to two separate offenses that occurred on the same day:
At approximately 6:00 pm, the suspects approached the victim in the 1700 block of 8th Street, Northwest. The suspects brandished a handgun and demanded property from the victim. The victim complied. The suspects then fled the scene in a vehicle.
At approximately 8:15 pm, the suspects approached the victims in the 1000 block of N Street, Northwest. The suspects brandished a handgun and demanded property from the victims.The victim complied. The suspects then fled the scene in a vehicle.
NBC News 4 reports that Metro police also arrested a 16-year-old girl and 17-year old-boy “charged with armed carjacking and possession of a BB gun.”
Likewise, a 16-year-old boy from the Northwest part of the city was charged with armed carjacking. A 16-year-old boy from Southwest was charged with possession of a BB gun.
The arrests come after just last week a D.C. candidate for city council was carjacked — and the whole incident was captured in a shocking video at a local gas station. Based on police reports, the following video is similar to the barrage of carjackings the teens allegedly carried out on unsuspecting victims.
A spokesperson for the D.C. police told The Washington Times last week that the perpetrators of carjackings in Washington are increasingly younger.
“We have noticed that a large number of these crimes are committed by young teenagers,” the spokesperson said.
According to D.C. Police Union President Greggory Pemberton, “the police department is stretched thin.” He told the Washington Times that the D.C. police has 400 fewer officers than a year ago.
“With this shortage of officers and detectives, there is a reduced ability to respond to and investigate these crimes,” Pemberton said.
“To be threatened at gunpoint is shocking, but I am not surprised that I was attacked given the increase in carjackings and the crisis facing young people in this city,” Fleming tweeted. “The perpetrators of violent crime are getting younger and younger.”
To be threatened at gunpoint is shocking, but I am not surprised that I was attacked given the increase in carjackings and the crisis facing young people in this city. The perpetrators of violent crime are getting younger and younger.
— Nate Fleming (@NateforDC) January 16, 2022
Fleming also stated, “Too many DC residents are dealing with heinous violent crimes. We must do much more than what we are currently doing to stop these attacks and shootings.”
Thanks for sharing. Certainly horrific. Too many DC residents are dealing with heinous violent crimes. We must do much more than what we are currently doing to stop these attacks and shootings. https://t.co/28MRhae4L3
— Nate Fleming (@NateforDC) January 19, 2022
Auto theft increased 15% in Washington, D.C in 2021 and that trend has not slowed down in the first month of 2022.