WASHINGTON — Hours after law enforcement held a joint press conference to discuss a rise in carjackings in the DMV, two separate carjackings left a mother and child scared and a car destroyed after going up in flames.
The first incident happened just after 6 p.m. when an armed carjacker targeted a car that was occupied by a mother and child Wednesday evening in Northeast, D.C.
The incident took place at 4th and F Street and police found the mom and child a short time after, however, they are still on the lookout for the car. The pair was left unharmed. No suspect information has been released at this time.
The second carjacking happened in the 4500 block of Suitland Road in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland around 9:45 p.m. When officers found the car, the suspects drove away and a short chase began.
A WUSA9 photographer was nearby when the carjacked vehicle crashed into a pole on Pennsylvania Avenue and Southern Street in Southeast.
All three suspects ran but have since been apprehended, according to Prince George's Police. No injuries have been reported and the fire was extinguished.
The two carjackings are not connected.
Earlier in the day the Metropolitan Police Department and Prince George’s County Police held a joint press conference about recent carjackings in the DMV. The pair said carjackings involved teenagers are up 2 to 1 compared to adults.
2021 was one of the worst years in recent history for carjackings. According to leaders, of the 132 carjackings in D.C., 85 of those arrested were under the age of 18. Across the border, 152 carjackings, 86 of them by a juvenile.
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