WASHINGTON — Aon Ali was walking down his normal route when a tug at his backpack turned into a scary and unforgettable moment.
The Howard University lab technician was on his way to work from his home in Northeast around 11:30 a.m. on July 1 when he was robbed at gunpoint, according to police.
Ali was blocks away from Howard University near the intersection of Bryan Street NW and 1st Street NW. Ali thought at first it was someone he knew who would pull his bag but when he turned around, the end of the gun was pointing right at his face.
"He yelled at me, 'Don't run!'" Ali said.
The 24-year-old quickly reacted by doing the opposite and running away. He said the suspect had both of his hands occupied with one holding the bag and the other pointing the gun against his head.
"I shimmied out of my bookbag and took off diagonally down the street," Ali said. "He kept chasing me but gave up. I kept running and turned around to see if he was still chasing me and he wasn't but I lost my balance and tumbled."
Ali said he still has some bruising on his left hand where he fell. He made it a few more blocks down Bryan Street where he called the police and his girlfriend.
"In the moment I was terrified," he said. "I called my girlfriend screaming. I was really upset."
Ali, a student at John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, not only had his laptop in the bag stolen but a keychain he obtained as a member of the Peace Corps.
He said police caught the suspect, a 15-year-old boy. The gun turned out to be a BB, according to the police incident report. Nevertheless, Ali wants others to use his experience as a stern reminder.
"Make sure to be cautious even when you're walking around in the daytime but also to not necessarily be fearful of your community because I think all of the events in our community are related to each other," Ali said. "We need to exercise a high amount of cautious even when we're walking around a route we've done a hundred times at noon."
Currently, there have been 851 robberies in D.C. in 2021, according to DC Police Crime Data, which is a 1% increase from 2020, when 843 robberies were reported.
Violent juvenile crimes have been a growing problem in the city, especially carjackings.
Motor vehicle thefts in D.C. are up nearly 30% since this time last year. From Jan. 1, 2020-June 28, 2020, there were a total of 94 carjacking offenses that occurred in the District; 10 adults and 12 juveniles were arrested for carjacking during that time. So far this year, 168 carjackings have been reported in D.C., with 14 adults and 47 juveniles arrested, according to MPD.
Sign up for the Get Up DC newsletter: Your forecast. Your commute. Your news.
Sign up for the Capitol Breach email newsletter, delivering the latest breaking news and a roundup of the investigation into the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021.