For the second time this month, and the third time this summer, a carjacker has stolen a vehicle with a child or children in the back seat in the Washington area. Although the overall rate of carjackings is declining in the metro area, that may be of little consolation or comfort to area parents, says AAA Mid-Atlantic.
A manhunt is still on for the offender in the latest carjacking incident. It occurred at a gas station on Minnesota Avenue NE Wednesday. While the mother was inside purchasing gas, a suspect reportedly jumped into her vehicle and sped off with her five-year-old child in the backseat.
“Such incidents involving six helpless and frightened children continue to alarm parents everywhere. This crime is the ultimate nightmare scenario for parents, truly a primal fear and gut-wrenching experience,” said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public and Government Affairs. “Although such incidents are rare, they remain a terrifying reality. Parents should never leave their children alone or unattended in a vehicle.”
In the latest carjacking, police contacted the perpetrator by the panicked mother’s cell phone and convinced him to drop the child off as he sped across the District line into Prince George’s County, according to media reports. Reportedly, the five-year-old girl was found unharmed. Motorists are vulnerable to this type of crime anytime they stop their vehicles, local police officials warn.
Earlier this month, a carjacker stole a van with three five-year-old children in the back seat in a busy grocery store parking lot in Chantilly, Virginia, according to the Fairfax County Police. Before exiting the parking lot the carjacker ordered the children to get out. They were not injured. The perpetrator, a Springfield man, was apprehended.
Earlier this summer, a Seat Pleasant man was arrested in a carjacking of a father and his two small children at gunpoint in Wheaton. The carjacker ordered the father to remove his children from their car safety seats. That situation occurred at the Westfield Shopping Mall June 22.
Even when children are not involved, carjackings are terrifying incidents to motorists, explained Townsend. During the first week of August, a total of 24 adults and juveniles were arrested on robbery/carjacking charges in the District, compared to 21 during the same period of time last year. That’s according to arrest figures from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Research & Analysis Branch.
The number of carjackings dropped from 600 incidents during 2008, compared to fewer than 200 episodes in the first eight months of 2009, according to the FBI’s joint carjacking task force. Carjacking is the violent form of motor vehicle theft.
In the Washington metro area, carjackings most often occur at commercial locations, such as shopping malls, grocery stores, ATMs, and gas stations, warns AAA Mid-Atlantic. Here’s a look:
On July 18, a motorist was stabbed in a carjacking situation in downtown Washington near 10th and N Streets NW, according to media reports.
On June 5, a retired District police officer was shot and wounded during a carjacking at a service station on Kenilworth Avenue NE, according to media reports.
On April 17, a student at Woodrow Wilson High School and his uncle were accused of attempting to carjack a vehicle driven by the student’s teacher. The student failed to recognize the teacher as he entered the vehicle in the Adams Morgan area.
On March 25, a sport utility vehicle with an infant aboard was stolen in the area of North Capitol and P Streets, NW. Metropolitan Police officers spotted the vehicle. The child was located inside the stolen vehicle and was unharmed during the incident.
On December 28, a married couple in Gaithersburg became the victims of an armed carjacking and robbery as the husband was parking the vehicle at their home. During the incident the armed gunmen forced the victims from the car and pushed them to the ground, reports the Montgomery County Police.
On Christmas Day, a motorist was confronted by three carjackers at the intersection of South Capitol and Elmira Streets, SW, as he was about to enter his automobile, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
On December 2, the 22-year-old daughter of a United States Senator was the victim of carjacking incident in Downtown Washington. She was dragged out of her Chevy Tahoe and thrown to the ground by two carjackers. The two suspects were apprehended in Prince George’s County, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
On November 5, two armed men reportedly carjacked a District woman and a Maryland man at gunpoint and robbed them of their possessions. The incident took place at the corner of First and Chesapeake Streets, SE, in Washington, D.C. A 17-year-old District teenager was subsequently found guilty of carjacking by a Superior Court jury.
A rash of carjackings terrorized the residents of an eight-block area of Capitol Hill last fall. At least seven carjackings reportedly occurred in the period between Mid-October and Mid- December.
Here are some tips to prevent you from being a victim of a carjacking.
Don’t leave your children unattended in a vehicle.
Don’t leave your keys in the car when you hop out at a service station, to shop or to park in a garage.
If ever confronted by a carjacker, give up keys or money without resistance.
If you are carjacked and forced to drive, consider crashing your car near a busy intersection where bystanders could come to your aid and summon the police.
Keep your doors and windows locked. When returning to your vehicle, survey the entire parking area before approaching your car. Be on the lookout for suspicious looking people. When approaching your car, come toward it from far enough away to see under your car, and look into the back seat before getting inside. Lock the doors as soon as you in inside the vehicle.
If you believe you are being followed, take the nearest exit, and proceed to a place that is heavily occupied — an open store, restaurant, etc. Ideally, drive to a police or fire station or a hospital. Don’t get out of the car. Stay inside and blow your horn until someone comes out to help.