Residents of Northwest D.C. are expressing concern as police continue the search for a suspect believed to be behind a string of early-morning armed robberies, most of them in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.
The suspect in the robberies has targeted convenience stores, restaurants and people simply sitting in their cars, police said. In all of the cases, the suspect approaches, pulls a gun and demands money, according to police.
The most recent robberies happened Monday morning.
At about 5:40 a.m., a man and a woman were waiting in a warming-up car behind an apartment building in the 3300 block of Mount Pleasant Street, according to a D.C. police report. The suspect approached and demanded, “Give me all your money.”
The robber made off with $160 and the woman’s handbag. Before taking off, the suspect looked inside the handbag and said, “You were lucky,” according to the police report.
About three hours later — a little after 8:30 a.m. — a convenience store at 11th and Harvard streets in Columbia Heights was robbed at gunpoint.
In that case, police released photos of the suspect taken from a surveillance camera inside the convenience store.
“It’s a nerve-wracking situation; it’s likely that someone in the area knows this person,” said
Chelsea Allinger, a resident and advisory neighborhood commissioner.
“The fact that these armed robberies are happening, it feels very close to home for all of us,” she added, pointing out the residents are being targeted as they head to work.
At a community meeting Tuesday night, police said the suspect is likely from the area. Anyone with information about the robberies should contact D.C. police.
The string of robberies began earlier this month.
Below is a map of the robberies police believe are related:
The first incident happened around 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 3 in the 1700 block of Lamont Street. In that case, the suspect forced a man out of his car, punched him with the back of a handgun before stealing the man’s car, wallet and phone, according to the police report.
On Jan. 5, police believe the same suspect pulled a gun on two people inside a deli on 17th Street around 7 a.m., making off with one of the people’s wallets and cash from the register.
In that case, police released surveillance video of the robbery:
The same suspect is believed to have robbed a restaurant in the same area around 7 a.m. on Jan. 12.
