WASHINGTON — Police in D.C. are searching for multiple suspects in a series of late-night, armed kidnappings from the U Street area, including one where a man thought he was getting in a ride-sharing car.
In all three cases, the suspects inside the car pulled out a handgun, assaulted the victims and then drove them around the D.C. area, forcing them to withdraw cash, according to police.
In the most recent case — about 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 4 — a man got inside a light-colored four-door Honda sedan near the corner of 13th and U streets thinking it was a ride-sharing car. When he realized he made a mistake, he asked to leave several times, police said.
Instead, one of the suspects threatened the man with a handgun and then drove him around forcing him to withdraw cash from ATMs. Police said the man eventually escaped the car in Maryland and was treated for his injuries at a hospital.
Police said two suspects — a black man and a black woman — and their vehicle were captured on surveillance video.
The other incidents are similar, although a police spokeswoman said authorities are not ready to say yet that the same group of suspects carried out all three kidnappings. The vehicles used in the kidnappings are all different.
On July 14, a victim willingly entered a dark-colored four-door sedan near 13th and U streets about 11:30 p.m., police said. Once inside, one of the suspects assaulted the person with a handgun and stole some of his property and drove him around to several locations to withdraw money. The person was able to exit the car in Maryland and sought treatment at a hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening.
The suspects were described as a black man and a black woman. The two suspects and their vehicle were captured on surveillance video, police said.
On July 27, at about 1 a.m., a person near Sixth and U streets who willingly got inside a four-door SUV was assaulted with a handgun and then driven around to ATMs. That person was able to escape in Virginia and sought treatment at a hospital. Police said the suspects were a black man and two black women.
