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Carjacking incidents in Washington, D.C., continue to rise since 2019, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) statistics show.
On Sunday evening, two juvenile suspects made Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. the latest of more than 300 victims impacted by carjackings far this year after they shot and wounded the football player on H Street — a busy strip of restaurants and grocery stores between Capitol Hill and Northeast D.C. neighborhoods.
MPD has recorded 326 total carjackings between Jan. 1 and Aug. 30 of this year, representing a 27% increase compared to the same time period last year, when MPD had recorded 264 carjackings. Of those carjacking incidents reported as of Aug. 30, 73% have involved guns.
"We are still short 100s of cops and the responsible policing that used to address this has been prohibited by misguided legislation," the D.C. Police Union continues to write on its Facebook page in addition to the city's latest violent crime statistics.
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An Uber driver also became the victim of an attempted carjacking on Monday evening in Southeast D.C., according to FOX 5 D.C. Police are searching for four juvenile suspects who allegedly attempted to take control of the driver's car and shoot him in the process. The bullet, however, missed the driver and struck a suspect, the outlet reported.
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Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 30 of 2020, there were 170 carjackings. For that time period in 2019, there were 94 carjackings.
One 2020 carjacking in D.C. made national headlines after two teenaged girls, ages 13 and 15, attempted to carjack Uber Eats driver Mohammad Anwar, 66, on March 23, 2020 near Nationals Park. Anwar, a Pakistani immigrant and grandfather, was ejected from the car after the girls crashed it, and he died near the wreckage.
Mohammad Anwar was a Pakistani immigrant who came to the U.S. in 2014 to "create a better life for him and his family," his family says. A 14-year-old girl sentenced Tuesday to be held in a youth detention facility until she turns 21 years of age in connection with his death. (GoFundMe)
Nearly 70% of all carjacking arrests involved juveniles between the ages of 13 and 17, according to MPD.
In addition, car thefts, which MPD counts separately from carjackings, are also on track to beat 2021 and 2020 numbers. MPD has recorded 2,263 auto theft incidents so far in 2022 compared to 3,482 total auto theft incidents over 2021 and 1,350 auto theft incidents over 2020.
In January of 2021, D.C. implemented its Carjacking Taskforce. A year later, as carjacking incidents continued to increase, the District expanded the task force and partnered with Prince George's County, Maryland, to combat the crime.
Prince George's County; Hyattsville, Maryland; and other areas around D.C. have also dealt with a growing carjacking problem.
On Monday, the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) arrested two high school students, ages 16 and 18, who brought handguns on to school property today. The 16-year-old was wanted for a June 29 carjacking and "multiple gun-related charges to include possession of a handgun on school property," police said in a news release.
PGPD Cpl. Clayton told WUSA9 in July that there were approximately 73 carjackings in the county in early July 2020 compared to 148 carjackings so far in 2021 — a 104% increase.
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The Hyattsville Police Department said "[c]arjackings are on the rise across the country" in an Aug. 26 tweet, "and while incidents like this do not happen frequently in Hyattsville, there have been 71 carjackings within the incorporated municipal jurisdictions of our county this year, a 45% increase over last year."
"No matter where you are in your vehicle, it’s always good practice to park in well-lit areas and look around to see who is walking and parked nearby before quickly entering and exiting your vehicle. If you feel uneasy, trust your gut and leave," the police department tweeted. "And always immediately lock your doors when getting into your vehicle."
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