D.C. police have stepped up patrols around Northeast gas stations after a rash of carjackings and vehicle thefts, officials said.
About 20 carjackings have been reported in recent months in the 6th Police District, officials said. Some victims were accosted after paying gas station cashiers. In other cases, thieves got behind the wheel and rode off after drivers stepped away from gas pumps, leaving their keys in unlocked cars.
"It's a crime of opportunity for them, and they catch you at your most vulnerable time," said Cmdr. Robin Hoey, head of the 6th District. "Some of these crooks will ride around in a stolen car and see somebody riding around in a car that they want, and they will carjack them."
Police have been focusing on areas east of the Anacostia River and along Pennsylvania Avenue, Benning Road, Minnesota Avenue and Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, officials said.
Investigators have arrested several suspected carjackers in recent months, and that seemed to stop one set of attacks, Hoey said. Those arrested range in age from 16 to 25, he said. Police said they targeted several groups that were operating in the Kenilworth Avenue and Benning Road areas.
Only one of the recent cases resulted in gunfire. An off-duty D.C. officer and a suspected carjacker exchanged shots Jan. 26 after the suspect tried to steal a van that the officer and his uncle were about to enter, police said. That incident took place in the 100 block of 50th Street SE. No one was hurt, and a suspect was arrested.
No victims have been killed in the attacks, Hoey said, but several have been assaulted.
"A car isn't worth getting hurt over," Hoey said.
The 6th District, which has been plagued in the past two years by car thefts and joy riding by teenagers, saw a slight decrease in such offenses last fall, Hoey said. But about four months ago, the number of carjackings began rising, mainly in neighborhoods with heavy narcotics trafficking and along some commuter corridors.
In the nearby 7th Police District, Cmdr. Joel Maupin said his officers have investigated some carjackings, also in areas where drugs are a problem. Most of the crimes have taken place early in the morning, leading investigators to believe that drug purchasers are being targeted.
The trouble in the 6th District usually has occurred late at night. Victims have been from the District and Maryland, said Capt. Brian Bray. A few drivers were attacked at stoplights, police said.
In both police districts, many of the vehicles have been recovered within a day or two after they were stolen. Officials say that suggests they are being used either by joy riders or by thieves who are committing other robberies. The cars typically have been found just blocks from where they were stolen, officials said.
"It's not like they're 'jacking them and taking them to a chop shop," where they are stripped for parts, Maupin said.
Investigators in the 6th District have gathered some information that raises the possibility that the carjackings are part of gang initiations, authorities said.
Officials advise motorists to buy gas at well-lighted stations and to be aware of their surroundings, especially while pumping and after paying cashiers. Drivers should keep their cell phones handy, officials said, and should call police to report suspicious people.
"Usually that sixth sense is warning you of something," Maupin said. "If something looks suspicious, it is suspicious."
