Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser was met with backlash Sunday after tweeting a video advising District residents how to prevent auto thefts, just days after Mohammed Anwar was killed in a fatal carjacking that went viral on social media.
“Auto theft is a crime of opportunity. Follow these steps to reduce the risk of your vehicle becoming a target. Remember the motto, #ProtectYourAuto,” Bowser tweeted.
Auto theft is a crime of opportunity. Follow these steps to reduce the risk of your vehicle becoming a target.
Remember the motto, #ProtectYourAuto. pic.twitter.com/7u1iFvked9
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) March 28, 2021
Some claimed the timing of Bowser’s tweet was tone-deaf given the multiple carjackings that took place in the District last week. Anwar, a 66-year-old Uber Eats driver was fatally flung from his vehicle last Tuesday after two teenage girls, aged 13 and 15, flipped it while allegedly attempting to steal it. Graphic video of the incident went viral. Two teenage boys, aged 13 and 14, were arrested Thursday in a separate incident.
“Horrible timing on this clearly scheduled tweet. And even if Mohammed Anwar wasn’t dead, carjackings are a plague in DC — there isn’t a lot you can do [with regard to] risk reduction besides simply not driving a car. This was broad daylight,” journalist Natalia Antonova wrote on Twitter.
Horrible timing on this clearly scheduled tweet. And even if Mohammed Anwar wasn’t dead, carjackings are a plague in DC — there isn’t a lot you can do wrt risk reduction besides simply not driving a car.
This was broad daylight. https://t.co/X1ehGtUVRd
— Natalia Antonova (@NataliaAntonova) March 28, 2021
“Heartless or tone deaf? DC Mayor Bowser offers ways to prevent carjacking after Mohammed Anwar died as a result of this crime,” wrote journalist Ian Miles Cheong.
Heartless or tone deaf? DC Mayor Bowser offers ways to prevent carjacking after Mohammed Anwar died as a result of this crime https://t.co/Ryp724geGf
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 28, 2021
“Uber Eats driver Muhammad Anwar was the victim of a carjacking by two teenage girls, who committed felony murder, in DC,” wrote journalist Gabriella Hoffman. “He died as a result of injuries. I presume this is a scheduled tweet but it’s extremely tone deaf. Bowser’s silence is deafening.”
Uber Eats driver Muhammad Anwar was the victim of a carjacking by two teenage girls, who committed felony murder, in DC. He died as a result of injuries.
I presume this is a scheduled tweet but it’s extremely tone deaf.
Bowser’s silence is deafening. https://t.co/ut3WLMme6q https://t.co/mFoTXKdFve
— Gabriella Hoffman (@Gabby_Hoffman) March 28, 2021
Carjacking rates have skyrocketed in Washington, D.C., since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with numbers more than doubling in 2020 compared to 2019.
As The Washington Post reported in December:
Every police precinct, encompassing rich and poor neighborhoods alike, has experienced an increase in carjackings, notably the high-crime Seventh District in far Southeast Washington, where this year’s 84 carjackings represent a 250 percent spike. In the Second District, covering affluent parts of Northwest Washington, the total has inched from eight to nine.
As The Daily Wire reported regarding the recent death of Anwar:
A 66-year-old Uber Eats driver was killed earlier this week when he was thrown from his vehicle after two teenage girls allegedly carjacked him near Nationals Park in southeast Washington, D.C.
Mohammad Anwar died after police say two girls, aged 13 and 15, used a stun gun against him and stole his car before causing it to flip, according to NBC 4 Washington.
[…]
Graphic video taken by a bystander depicts the violent scene, which shows how Anwar fought with the girls before they drove off while he was still attached to the vehicle. They crash the car, and the video later shows Anwar’s body on the sidewalk as National Guardsmen help the girls out of the flipped vehicle. One of the girls can be heard saying something about her phone.
Anwar, who was working as an Uber Eats driver at the time of his death, was a father and grandfather with loved ones in both the U.S. and Pakistan, according to his family, who described the crime as “senseless.”
Related: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Petty, Hypocritical Tyranny Must Stop