WASHINGTON — DC Police are searching for the person who attacked a woman at gunpoint then robbed her Thursday night in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. It was all caught on a neighbor’s camera.
The robbery happened around 7 p.m. near the corner of 13th Street and Lamont Street Northwest.
In surveillance video, you can see the attacker walk behind the victim before grabbing her. DC Police say the attacker made off with the victim’s purse, wallet and credit cards.
“Not really surprised it happened to one of my neighbors, because it happened to me ─ it happened to my mother," said Jennifer Rivas.
She told WUSA9 her mother was robbed just outside her front door.
"They tried to get my mother’s bag, my mother kept her bag, and they pulled her on the floor, and she hit her head, a big bump," said Rivas.
More recently, she says her and her husband were held at gunpoint around the corner from their home in an attempted robbery.
“When he pulled a gun, I didn’t know what to do," said Rivas. "My husband said 'call the police, call the police.' I tried to see my phone, but my mind, it went off.”
According to DC Police’s online crime database, in this Police Service Area which includes Mount Pleasant and parts of Columbia Heights, there have been five more robberies with a gun compared to this time last year.
“I know there’s always stuff happening, but when it hits that close to home, it’s a different thing," said another neighbor who didn't want to be identified.
She told WUSA9 her partner was robbed nearby about two weeks ago.
“He was like a block away from our house and three guys surrounded, took his tote bag with his phone, wallet and keys and left," she said.
The robberies have some people, like Rivas, feeling uneasy about leaving the house.
“Right now, I don’t like to walk around, because it’s too dangerous," said Rivas.
The city’s crime database also shows there have been 38 robberies in this Police Service Area so far this year. DC Police are searching for the suspect in this robbery.