D.C. police are investigating 18 armed robberies, 17 of which occurred within a mile-and-a-quarter of each other in Northwest between Monday night and yesterday morning.
Police say at least two robbers using as many as four different cars held up pedestrians at gunpoint in and around Adams Morgan between 9:30 p.m. Monday and 5:40 a.m. yesterday, stealing a car, assaulting one victim and injuring another.
“I cannot recall in my career that many robberies occurring in such a small amount of time possibly committed by the same suspects,” said Metropolitan Police spokesman Sgt. Joe Gentile.
Overall, Sgt. Gentile said preliminary figures show robberies are down 20 percent this year, compared with last year.
Seven of the robberies occurred between 5 a.m. and 5:40 a.m. yesterday. All but one occurred within an area bordered by Ogden Street to the north, V Street to the south, Rock Creek Park to the west and 10th Street to the east.
The only robbery outside that area occurred at 1:45 a.m. at 16th and Sheridan streets NW, about two miles away.
Sgt. Gentile said the victims were male and female pedestrians of varying ages and races. He said the robbers displayed a weapon and took cash, wallets, cell phones and credit cards.
In one case, the assailants robbed a man in the 1400 block of Irving Street NW as he was walking toward his car at 5:30 a.m. They took his keys and stole the car, using it to drive to a subsequent robbery.
One woman suffered minor injuries when she was robbed in the 200 block of Champlain St. NW at about 11:20 p.m. Monday. Another victim was assaulted after resisting the robbers at 4:45 a.m. at 14th and W streets NW.
According to witness descriptions, one robber was a black man with a dark complexion in his late teens or early 20s, about 6-foot-2, and between 140 and 160 pounds. The man wore dark clothes and carried a large, silver handgun.
A second robber was described as a black man with a medium-to-dark complexion in his late teens or early 20s, about 5-foot-10, and between 140 and 160 pounds. The man also wore dark clothes and carried a black handgun.
In one case, a witness reported a black or Hispanic man with a light complexion acting as a driver.
Car descriptions included a gold Dodge Intrepid, a dark-colored Jaguar, a maroon or red Chevrolet Cavalier or Toyota Corolla and a green Kia Sedona that was taken during one of the robberies. Police said the other cars used by the robbers may have been stolen as well.
Sgt. Gentile said police planned increased patrols and tactical operations in the area last night, but he declined to specify how many officers would be on the streets.
Anyone with information should call police at 202/727-9099.
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