WASHINGTON — D.C. police are questioning people after a series of violent robberies Halloween night in Northwest. Police said one of the incidents is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The people being questioned were not under arrest, police said.
Victims described four separate attacks and robberies involving groups of eight to 12 boys and girls. The attacks were in Georgetown and Woodley Park between 7:30 p.m. and sometime after 10:30 p.m.
All the cases may be related, police said.
In one of the encounters, police reports said a handgun and martial arts dagger called a “sai” were displayed.
Three men who were beaten and robbed were knocked to the ground, where they were kicked and punched. One man went to the hospital. The woman who was attacked was grabbed by the hair and shoved against her car before being robbed of her phone.
D.C. police said the following cases are being investigated and may be related:
7:25 p.m. Monday | 2430 Pennsylvania Ave. Northwest (Georgetown)
A man walking in front of The Melrose Georgetown Hotel and talking on his phone said he was approached by eight youths, who punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground. He was then kicked, punched and robbed.
10:28 p.m. Monday | 2901 Connecticut Ave. Northwest (Woodley Park)
A man walking in an alley next to 2915 Connecticut Ave. described being approached by a large group of individuals who struck him, knocking him to the ground. Two of the suspects displayed a handgun and a martial arts weapon called a “sai,” which looks like a dagger.
Between 10:33 p.m. Monday and 12:32 a.m. Tuesday | Oyster-Adams Bilingual Elementary School, (Woodley Park)
A woman described being approached by a group of about 15 teenagers; she said two of them grabbed her by the hair, shoved her against her car and robbed her of a cellphone.
10:46 p.m. Monday | 3420 Prospect St. Northwest (Georgetown)
A man was taken to the hospital after being approached by a group of 15 to 20 boys and girls on the street. One said, “Look what I can do,” according to a police account, and punched the man in the back of the head. The man told police that after he had fallen to the ground, the youths kicked, punched and robbed him of two backpacks. A laptop removed from one of the backpacks was smashed onto the ground.
Police said this case was being investigated as a possible hate crime.
“Ultimately, the prosecutors will determine whether to seek the enhanced penalties associated with a bias-motivated crime,” a police spokeswoman said in an email.
