A 12-year-old boy has been arrested for armed carjacking in the crime-infested Washington, D.C.
The incident occurred at approximately 1 p.m. Sunday — in broad daylight — at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr Avenue and U Street, Southeast.
“At approximately 1:06 pm, the suspect approached the victim at the listed location and demanded the victim’s keys while holding an object in his waistband that the victim believed was a firearm,” the Metropolitan Police Department said in a press release. “The victim refused to give the property to the suspect, and the suspect fled on foot.”
Police apprehended the boy shortly after and placed him under arrest.
“I was just shaken up by it,” the victim told Fox 5. “I didn’t really know how to feel. I was frozen.”
“[Youth violence] is horrible,” she continued. “It’s gotten so bad and the age limit is just going younger and younger.”
The report notes, “The woman he’s accused of trying to carjack doesn’t want us to reveal her identify out of fear of retaliation.”
The boy’s name has not been publicly released because he is a minor. He has been charged with Armed Carjacking (Gun) and Carrying a Pistol Without a License.
On Thursday, D.C. officials announced that the city’s juvenile curfew law will begin being enforced in certain areas “where crime is concentrated or where disruptive youths are known to hang out,” according to a report from the Washington Post.
The areas where it will be enforced include Chinatown and Navy Yard; the area along the U Street entertainment strip; areas near Howard University; 14th Street between Otis Place and Spring Road NW in Columbia Heights; the 4000 block of Georgia Avenue NW; the 4400 through 4600 blocks of Benning Road SE; and the 1300 block of Congress Street SE.
The curfew for anyone under 17 years old is 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. during the week and midnight to 6 a.m. on weekends. There are exceptions for minors who are travelling to or from work.
“This is a targeted approach to deal with very specific areas of concern,” Mayor Muriel E. Bowser said during a press conference about the initiative.
