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Crew delivering newspapers carjacked at gunpoint in Capitol Hill

Police said the carjacking happened around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and the suspect was armed with a rifle.

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — There was unusual commotion on a quiet block in Northeast, D.C. before the sun was up Wednesday morning. 

Darrick Wilson said it was enough to get his attention while he was at home.

"I heard this screaming," said Wilson. "I looked out the window and I saw this guy with, I don’t know what kind of gun he had, but it was a big one.”

DC Police told WUSA9 a person armed with a rifle surrounded an SUV that was being used by a crew delivering newspapers near 7th Street and East Capitol Street, Northeast in Capitol Hill. That person then carjacked the crew at gunpoint just before 5:30 a.m.

A DC Police incident report shows the suspect pointed the rifle at one of the passengers in the car, told them to get out, got in the car and took off.

“They get out and start screaming," said Wilson. "They looked like they were kind of in shock, because they were right here, and the guy just took off and went up the street. Then he went left on Independence.”

RELATED: Man arrested in connection to 3 armed carjackings in DC

Police say in addition to the car, the suspect took two phones, a driver’s license and three credit cards.

“She had been carjacked right after she had placed my paper on my stoop," said a woman who lives on 7th Street Southeast that didn't want to be identified.

RELATED: More and more car break-ins reported in this DC neighborhood

She said one of the women who was carjacked has been delivering newspapers in this area for at least a decade.

“This is an amazingly quiet block as we feel the next one is," she said. "We feel we’re in a nice little oasis, because it’s not a through street. We all feel fairly safe.”

“It’s actually very, very seldom crime here," said Wilson. "When I go in the alley, there’s normally Capitol Police out there, so I feel really safe out there.”

Police are looking for the person responsible for this carjacking.

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