WASHINGTON — Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers arrested two 13-year-old boys for a string of armed carjackings around D.C. It's the latest development in a trend of young people involved in carjackings in the District.
MPD officials said the boys, who have not been identified because of their age, are from Northwest D.C. and Southeast D.C. They were arrested on Friday, September 3, and charged with armed carjacking, armed robbery, and first-degree theft in at least five crimes, police said. A BB gun was recovered during the arrest.
The first of the carjackings happened on Friday, August 27, around 7:15 p.m. in D.C.'s third district. The suspects approached a victim seated in their vehicle in the 100 block of V Street Northwest. One of the suspects brandished a handgun and demanded the victim exit the vehicle, police said. The victim complied and the suspects left in the stolen vehicle.
On Monday, August 30, the two boys approached a victim in the 900 block of Half Street, Southeast around 9:20 p.m. Police said one of the boys again brandished a handgun and demanded the victim's keys, then took off in the stolen car.
The next day, Tuesday, August 30, police said the pair approached a victim in a car in the 1000 block of 4th Street Southeast just before 9 p.m. Again, one of the suspects brandished a handgun and demanded the driver get out of the car and hand over the keys. The victim complied and the suspects again drove off.
Twice on September 3 the boys attempted carjackings in broad daylight, according to the MPD report. First, around 2:15 p.m., the suspects approached a victim in the 800 block of Delaware Avenue Southwest. One of the suspects brandished a handgun and demanded the victim's vehicle before leaving the scene.
Just minutes later, the boys approached a victim in the 300 block of G Street Southwest. One of the suspects waved a handgun and demanded the victim's vehicle. The boys then took the victim's property before they were apprehended by responding officers, police said.
These cases remain under investigation and MPD is asking anyone who may have more information to contact them at 202-727-9099, or text the department's tip line at 50411.
Law enforcement across the D.C. region has been dealing with a spike in carjackings over the past year, with a number of them involving young people.
The most notable of these cases happened in March, when two teenage girls attempted to carjack an Uber Eats driver near Nationals Park in Navy Yard. The driver, Muhammad Anwar, died, and the two girls, ages 13 and 15, were given the maximum sentence behind bars.