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"Give me your money, or I'll kill you"
Honestly, it's amazing how stupid some people are. The amount of money involved in this crime spree is so low, and the chances of getting caught so high, that you have to wonder about the supposed sentience of some in the human race.
Anyway, these guys should put in the slammer to rot for a long, long time. Cruel and unusual punishment is sounding good right now.
Catholic U. is my alma mater.
Anyway, these guys should put in the slammer to rot for a long, long time. Cruel and unusual punishment is sounding good right now.
Catholic U. is my alma mater.
'Give Me Your Money or I'll Kill You'
Victims of Roving Robbers Describe Terror at Midday
By Del Quentin Wilber and Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 19, 2006; B01
Aiming an assault pistol directly at the college freshman's face, the robber cocked the gun. The student heard a clack as a round entered the chamber.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, man, I'm serious," replied the gunman, who was probably no more than 18 or 19. "Give me your money or I'll kill you."
Sitting in the passenger seat of his brother's car, the student did not argue. Two more robbers walked over and reached through the car's windows. He gave them $10 and his cellphone. His brother handed over at least $80.
"We have your IDs. If you call the police, we'll kill you," the gunman said before fleeing.
The freshman said he couldn't believe he was being robbed -- in the middle of a spring afternoon, just outside his dormitory at Catholic University in Northeast Washington. He was one of more than a dozen victims of carjackings and robberies during a terrifying few hours Monday in the District and Prince George's County. The Washington Post is not identifying him or the other victims because police consider them witnesses.
No one was seriously injured in the spate of holdups, but the assailants fired at least one shot at a fleeing motorist. Police knew of no motive for the chaotic burst. Victims were targeted on streets, in a store and in traffic -- two lost their cars after thieves boxed them in.
As the victims relived their experiences yesterday, police scrambled to find those responsible. In the afternoon, D.C. police got what they hope will be a break in the case when they spotted one of the carjacked vehicles in the parking lot of a pawn shop in Northwest Washington.
Cmdr. Larry McCoy was doing paperwork in his cruiser when he saw the tan Chevrolet TrailBlazer pull into the parking lot at Lamont Street and Georgia Avenue. McCoy said he apprehended the driver as he was trying to rip a stereo out of the back of the SUV. The man was apparently going to try to sell the speaker at the pawn shop.
He was being questioned about the robberies and carjackings last night, but no charges had been filed. Police are looking for as many as five other assailants and said they hoped that the SUV would yield clues.
"Hopefully, we'll get some fingerprints," McCoy said. "There are definitely other people out there."
Police said they were still trying to piece together the exact number and sequence of robberies and carjackings and were culling through reports to see whether other crimes might be connected to the group. One potential lead evaporated: A juvenile arrested early yesterday near the National Zoo did not appear to have been involved in the crimes, police said.
At a news conference outside police headquarters, D.C. officers said they believe the crimes started early Saturday in Northwest when a group of young men carjacked a Mazda 626. The next day, thieves stole a black Jeep Liberty parked near 12th and Varnum streets NE. Police believe that Jeep was used in many crimes that followed.
The next robbery, police believe, took place about 11:45 p.m. Sunday in the 600 block of Fairmont Street NW. The crimes picked up again about 1 p.m. Monday when armed men attempted a carjacking in Mount Rainier, police said.
In the next few minutes, heavily armed men committed three more robberies in the Hyattsville area, pistol-whipping four victims in one of the holdups.
Then, about 1:30 p.m., four assailants, wearing black hoods, stormed a family-run auto parts store, Safe-N-Sound Auto Systems, in Adelphi. One pulled out an assault pistol and pointed it at a salesman, who exchanged a nervous look with his aunt, who also worked in the store, and a customer.
"Drop everything!" the gunman said.
The gunman was talking "through his teeth" as his partners rummaged through the customer's pockets, getting nothing, the salesman said. When the salesman's aunt tried to slip out the back, one of the robbers grabbed her by the back of the neck and slammed her to the floor. The salesman leaned over to help his aunt, and the gunman jammed the pistol in his chest.
"I thought, 'This is it,' " the salesman said. His mind keyed on his four children and what would become of them if he died. "I thought they would definitely kill me," he said of the attackers.
The men left with the salesman's gold chain, which bore a cross worth $2,200, his blue cotton sweater and $470 from his pocket that he was going to spend on car repairs later in the day.
The assailants then apparently moved to the District, where they committed a succession of swift robberies and carjackings, police said.
They stole a wallet and North Face jacket from a man in the 5000 block of South Dakota Avenue NE. Then they stole a tan Chevy Blazer from a Howard University student on the school's campus in the 2400 block of Fourth Street NW.
A few minutes later, they used their vehicles to box in a white Nissan Armada being driven by an off-duty officer with the U.S. Mint Police, authorities said.
When the officer fled the vehicle, the assailants noticed that he had a holster, police said.
"He's the police," one of the men said, according to police reports.
The gunman then fired a single round, which missed the officer. The men quickly moved on to steal a Chevy Tahoe on North Capitol Street NE.
By 3:30 p.m., the assailants were hanging out in a parking lot next to a dormitory at Catholic University in the 600 block of Michigan Avenue NE, police said. After robbing the freshman and his brother, the gunman strode over to the dorm's entrance. He held the assault pistol by his side, the freshman said.
A few minutes earlier, the freshman had called his roommate on his cellphone, asking him to come downstairs and help him carry a television and other heavy items into the dorm. He prayed that his roommate wouldn't come outside.
The roommate came out. He was surprised to see a gun pointed in his face. The robber didn't say a word as he ripped the car keys from the roommate's belt and took a silver chain from his neck. Then the assailants escaped, with at least one of them driving away in the roommate's Volkswagen.
They dumped the car about a mile away on Hawaii Avenue NE, police said.
Police believe the thieves then may have returned to Prince George's to continue the robberies.
Yesterday, some of those who live or attend schools in neighborhoods targeted by the robbers said they were shocked by the brazen crimes.
"It's so scary," said Lauren Treacy, 18, a freshman at Catholic. "I know I have to be careful."
About two miles away, at Howard, where one of the carjackings occurred, freshman Kimberly Williams, 19, was trying to come to terms with the suddenness of it all.
"I wouldn't expect that to happen here in broad daylight," she said.
Staff writer Karlyn Barker, staff researcher Bobbye Pratt and news aide Terence McArdle contributed to this report.
Victims of Roving Robbers Describe Terror at Midday
By Del Quentin Wilber and Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 19, 2006; B01
Aiming an assault pistol directly at the college freshman's face, the robber cocked the gun. The student heard a clack as a round entered the chamber.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, man, I'm serious," replied the gunman, who was probably no more than 18 or 19. "Give me your money or I'll kill you."
Sitting in the passenger seat of his brother's car, the student did not argue. Two more robbers walked over and reached through the car's windows. He gave them $10 and his cellphone. His brother handed over at least $80.
"We have your IDs. If you call the police, we'll kill you," the gunman said before fleeing.
The freshman said he couldn't believe he was being robbed -- in the middle of a spring afternoon, just outside his dormitory at Catholic University in Northeast Washington. He was one of more than a dozen victims of carjackings and robberies during a terrifying few hours Monday in the District and Prince George's County. The Washington Post is not identifying him or the other victims because police consider them witnesses.
No one was seriously injured in the spate of holdups, but the assailants fired at least one shot at a fleeing motorist. Police knew of no motive for the chaotic burst. Victims were targeted on streets, in a store and in traffic -- two lost their cars after thieves boxed them in.
As the victims relived their experiences yesterday, police scrambled to find those responsible. In the afternoon, D.C. police got what they hope will be a break in the case when they spotted one of the carjacked vehicles in the parking lot of a pawn shop in Northwest Washington.
Cmdr. Larry McCoy was doing paperwork in his cruiser when he saw the tan Chevrolet TrailBlazer pull into the parking lot at Lamont Street and Georgia Avenue. McCoy said he apprehended the driver as he was trying to rip a stereo out of the back of the SUV. The man was apparently going to try to sell the speaker at the pawn shop.
He was being questioned about the robberies and carjackings last night, but no charges had been filed. Police are looking for as many as five other assailants and said they hoped that the SUV would yield clues.
"Hopefully, we'll get some fingerprints," McCoy said. "There are definitely other people out there."
Police said they were still trying to piece together the exact number and sequence of robberies and carjackings and were culling through reports to see whether other crimes might be connected to the group. One potential lead evaporated: A juvenile arrested early yesterday near the National Zoo did not appear to have been involved in the crimes, police said.
At a news conference outside police headquarters, D.C. officers said they believe the crimes started early Saturday in Northwest when a group of young men carjacked a Mazda 626. The next day, thieves stole a black Jeep Liberty parked near 12th and Varnum streets NE. Police believe that Jeep was used in many crimes that followed.
The next robbery, police believe, took place about 11:45 p.m. Sunday in the 600 block of Fairmont Street NW. The crimes picked up again about 1 p.m. Monday when armed men attempted a carjacking in Mount Rainier, police said.
In the next few minutes, heavily armed men committed three more robberies in the Hyattsville area, pistol-whipping four victims in one of the holdups.
Then, about 1:30 p.m., four assailants, wearing black hoods, stormed a family-run auto parts store, Safe-N-Sound Auto Systems, in Adelphi. One pulled out an assault pistol and pointed it at a salesman, who exchanged a nervous look with his aunt, who also worked in the store, and a customer.
"Drop everything!" the gunman said.
The gunman was talking "through his teeth" as his partners rummaged through the customer's pockets, getting nothing, the salesman said. When the salesman's aunt tried to slip out the back, one of the robbers grabbed her by the back of the neck and slammed her to the floor. The salesman leaned over to help his aunt, and the gunman jammed the pistol in his chest.
"I thought, 'This is it,' " the salesman said. His mind keyed on his four children and what would become of them if he died. "I thought they would definitely kill me," he said of the attackers.
The men left with the salesman's gold chain, which bore a cross worth $2,200, his blue cotton sweater and $470 from his pocket that he was going to spend on car repairs later in the day.
The assailants then apparently moved to the District, where they committed a succession of swift robberies and carjackings, police said.
They stole a wallet and North Face jacket from a man in the 5000 block of South Dakota Avenue NE. Then they stole a tan Chevy Blazer from a Howard University student on the school's campus in the 2400 block of Fourth Street NW.
A few minutes later, they used their vehicles to box in a white Nissan Armada being driven by an off-duty officer with the U.S. Mint Police, authorities said.
When the officer fled the vehicle, the assailants noticed that he had a holster, police said.
"He's the police," one of the men said, according to police reports.
The gunman then fired a single round, which missed the officer. The men quickly moved on to steal a Chevy Tahoe on North Capitol Street NE.
By 3:30 p.m., the assailants were hanging out in a parking lot next to a dormitory at Catholic University in the 600 block of Michigan Avenue NE, police said. After robbing the freshman and his brother, the gunman strode over to the dorm's entrance. He held the assault pistol by his side, the freshman said.
A few minutes earlier, the freshman had called his roommate on his cellphone, asking him to come downstairs and help him carry a television and other heavy items into the dorm. He prayed that his roommate wouldn't come outside.
The roommate came out. He was surprised to see a gun pointed in his face. The robber didn't say a word as he ripped the car keys from the roommate's belt and took a silver chain from his neck. Then the assailants escaped, with at least one of them driving away in the roommate's Volkswagen.
They dumped the car about a mile away on Hawaii Avenue NE, police said.
Police believe the thieves then may have returned to Prince George's to continue the robberies.
Yesterday, some of those who live or attend schools in neighborhoods targeted by the robbers said they were shocked by the brazen crimes.
"It's so scary," said Lauren Treacy, 18, a freshman at Catholic. "I know I have to be careful."
About two miles away, at Howard, where one of the carjackings occurred, freshman Kimberly Williams, 19, was trying to come to terms with the suddenness of it all.
"I wouldn't expect that to happen here in broad daylight," she said.
Staff writer Karlyn Barker, staff researcher Bobbye Pratt and news aide Terence McArdle contributed to this report.
So I wouldn't give him my money, and I yelled at him, and he put his knife away and ran. 
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