Three boys escaped from a Pennsylvania youth detention center that D.C. contracts with this weekend and returned to the District in a stolen car that was then involved in a robbery and shooting, according to police.
One of the escapees is in custody and police are still searching for the other two.
Police said they learned Sunday night that the teens had escaped, stolen a red Land Rover SUV with Pennsylvania tags and returned to D.C.
Later that night, officers responded to the 700 block of 8th Street NE for a reported shooting and found a man who’d been shot and told police he’d been robbed. The man was transported to a local hospital with injuries considered to be not life-threatening.
Police said they used cameras nearby to connect the Land Rover SUV to the crime.
Minutes later, an officer saw the vehicle fleeing toward the area of RFK Stadium. Falcon 1, D.C. police’s helicopter, followed the Land Rover and officers watched five people bail out and run away, according to police.
Two of them got back into the car and drove off. Of the three still on foot, police said they captured one and also recovered an AR-15-style rifle nearby.
Minutes later, another officer spotted the SUV on Alabama Avenue in Southeast and initiated a pursuit. The SUV stopped near Minnesota and T streets, where the people inside bailed out, police said. Officers found and arrested two more people.
Of the three arrested, one had escaped from the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services’ Pennsylvania facility. All three are charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, robbery and other firearm offenses.
In a statement to WTOP, D.C.’s DYRS confirmed it was aware of the incidents and is “actively coordinating” with D.C. police to locate and return the teens.
D.C. police are asking anyone with information about this case to contact them at 202-727-9099 or text the department’s tip line at 50411.
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