Man Slain In Attack on Couple in Georgetown

Alan Senitt, 27, recently moved to the District from Britain to volunteer for Mark R. Warner. He had been active in fighting anti-Semitism. (Courtesy Something Jewish - Courtesy Something Jewish)

As he was being escorted by police, a man in handcuffs whom WRC-TV (Channel 4) identified as Rice apologized for what happened. But he told the station during a brief sidewalk interview, "I did not have anything to do with the murder."

Second Police District Cmdr. Andy Solberg said the quick arrests resulted from leads detectives have developed while investigating two robberies that occurred last month in the same neighborhood. He declined to provide details. Police reports show that a trio of attackers robbed Georgetown pedestrians in the early hours of June 4 and June 11, fleeing with wallets, cash and cellphones.

In late May, three couples walking on the Mall at night were robbed by three assailants in separate incidents. The robbers wore black ski masks in at least one of the cases. In all three attacks, the women were specially targeted: One was groped, one was beaten and a third was sexually assaulted.

Glover declined to comment on a possible connection between Senitt's slaying and those attacks but said police are "taking a broad look at any other crimes that may fit what happened here."

By yesterday afternoon, police had reopened Q Street. People strolled past Miller's house, where two police cruisers stood guard. A few doors down, a woman tending geraniums said she had been awakened by police sirens but didn't know a killing had occurred until she contacted a radio station.

Police officials and D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) are scheduled to discuss the crime with residents at 6:30 tonight in a meeting at Christ Church, 31st and O streets NW.

"We've had a spate of robberies, but what's unusual here is the sheer viciousness of the crime. It's awful," said Bill Starrels, a Georgetown advisory neighborhood commissioner. "You have a young man trying to get his lady friend home safely. And he essentially gave up his life trying to get her home safely."

Word of Senitt's death traveled rapidly across the Atlantic Ocean to family members in London and friends in Jerusalem. An activist dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism and promoting Israel, Senitt served twice as the elected head of the Union of Jewish Students, which represents about 5,000 college students in Britain.

Later, Senitt worked for Greville Janner, a member of the House of Lords from Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party who founded the Co-Existence Trust, a group that promotes Muslim-Jewish relations.

Last month, Senitt quit that job and moved to Washington to volunteer for Warner's potential presidential campaign and study political fundraising. Senitt was a Labor candidate this year for the council in the northwest London neighborhood where he was raised. He lost, but Danny Stone, a friend who took over at the Co-Existence Trust, said Senitt was committed to a life in politics.

"He was a serious contender for mainstream political life," Stone said. "He was up and coming. He would have been brilliant, I'm sure of it."

Senitt's parents, Jack and Karen, sister Emma and brother James issued a statement mourning the loss of "a much loved son and brother." They asked that they be allowed "to grieve in private."

"The Jewish community as a whole has lost one of its bright young leaders and the wider world has lost a champion of peace and goodwill," the statement said. "It will take us a lifetime to come to terms with our tragic loss."

Sullivan reported from London. Staff writers Martin Weil and Michael D. Shear contributed to this report.