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Not long after nearly 40 teenagers trashed the convenience store Ibrahin Hossain manages in the Hechinger Mall in Northeast D.C. on Friday night, he told the owner of 24/7 Best Tobacco & Wireless that he no longer wants to work there because he doesn’t feel safe.
Almost everyone could understand why Hossain, 28, who has only been an employee at the store for less than three months, would feel that way after spending Friday night trapped inside the store along with two other co-workers.
Along with wrecking the store by throwing things on the floor, Hossain said they stole cans of Red Bull, chocolates and Slim Jims. He believes thousands of dollars of merchandise were taken from the store.
Once the teens left the store, Hossain said they started throwing rocks and bricks at the windows.
“This is like 3.5 miles away from the White House, and it’s not safe here,” Hossain said. “I called the police, they took 45 minutes to get here.”
Not only does he not feel safe at work, Hossain said where he lives near the store is not safe either because people have been shooting at his home.
“Two bullets were inside,” Hossain said.
Less than 72 hours after the store invasion, Hossain has newfound hope thanks to President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday that his administration is placing D.C. police under federal control and activating 800 members of the National Guard.
“We’re going to take our capital back,” Trump said.
“I’m feeling better because he’s taking some good steps, I believe, and everything should be normal,” Hossain said.
Some DC residents endorse tough measures
Hossain is not the only person at the Hechinger Mall who was pleased with Trump’s announcement; so was Wayne Coleman.
The lifelong Washingtonian spoke to WTOP as he arrived at the shopping center, saying D.C. was at a tipping point.
“If the city is going to be the great city that it could be, something has to be done,” Coleman said. “People should feel as safe on Wisconsin and Mass (avenues), as you do on Benning Road.”
Coleman said if those measures call for some people to be uncomfortable so the majority of people can go to cookouts without worrying about getting shot or carjacked, “So be it.”
Statistics published by D.C.’s police department contradict the perception of rising crime and show violent crime has dropped in D.C. since a post-pandemic peak in 2023.
According to the data, homicides, robberies and burglaries are down this year when compared with this time in 2024. Overall, violent crime is down 26% compared with this time a year ago.
A recent Department of Justice report shows violent crime is down 35% since 2023, returning to the previous trend of decreasing crime that puts D.C.’s violent crime rate at its lowest in 30 years.
That report shows that when compared to 2023 numbers, homicides are down 32%, armed carjackings are down 53% and assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 27%.
Tanganyika Hawkins said she’s been personally touched by crime in the city.
“It’s a lot of parents out here that’s living without their kids due to the homicides on these streets of D.C. and Maryland,” Hawkings said. “I lost my son Dec. 16, 2023, to somebody trying to break in his car. He was killed at the age of 28.”
Hawkings said her son, Kenneth Darnell Barksdale Jr., left behind a 1-year-old son.
She said D.C. does have a crime issue, despite data showing otherwise. However, she questions the timing of Trump’s announcement.
“I think the only reason he did this is because that Caucasian dude got injured, that work along with Elon Musk,” Hawkings said. “I think it’s going be a lot of police brutality. I think they’re gonna do a lot of underhand stuff, those stuff under the table.”
She was referencing the 19-year-old ex-Department of Government Efficiency employee who was violently beaten during an attempted carjacking in D.C. last week.
As WTOP’s Jimmy Alexander spoke to Hawkins, D.C. police were detaining a man and pulled him out of his vehicle.
“Everybody wants to live a better life, race, creed or color. Everybody wants peace,” Coleman added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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