Man killed, more than a dozen robbed in DC - Washington Post

On Wednesday night, according to police, a 12-year-old boy was struck and robbed by three slightly older juveniles who took his Halloween candy and an iPhone as he trick or treated along N Street in Georgetown.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, appearing Thursday morning on a WTOP radio call-in show, said there were two instances of candy bags being snatched in the city on Wednesday. She said nine robberies occurred during what she called the "bewitching hours" of Halloween, but it was unclear how many could be linked to the street celebrations.

Lanier described the violence as about average in a city where the number of homicides is dropping but robberies remain a stubborn problem and are up about 5 percent over this time last year.

Hundreds of extra police officers were dispatched to neighborhoods throughout Washington and Lanier said that on a tour of the city she saw large crowds in Georgetown, known for its Halloween street parties, and along 10th and East Capitol streets, where there were many haunted houses.

Lanier also responded to the shooting death, which occurred about 9:45 p.m. in the 2000 block of 4th St. NE. Police said witnesses reported seeing a 25-year-old man running from an alley into 4th Street and collapsing in the street.

Police said the man, identified as Anthony Weathers of Suitland, had been shot multiple times in an alley behind the 300 block of V Street and that he lost consciousness and died at the scene.

Lanier, speaking on the radio program, said detectives had been talking to several possible witnesses. "Hopefully, we'll get something out of that," she said.

Another shooting occurred in Southeast about 8:50 p.m., when police said an adult male was shot in the neck in the 2700 block of Naylor Road. The victim was taken to a hospital, but police had no immediate update on his condition.

Police are investigating similar attacks against groups of people that occurred blocks apart between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. in Northwest.

The first assault occurred in the 1200 block of 20th St. NW, where police said two women and a man were attacked. One man was cut, a woman was knocked the ground and a third woman was bitten in the hand, according to police.

A half hour later, police said, two men were attacked by four people who punched one of the victims, knocking him to the ground, and then repeatedly kicked him until he was unconscious.

D.C. Officer Araz Alali, a police spokesman, said detectives are investigating whether the same group of people is responsible for both attacks, given the similarities and the proximity of the crimes.

Robberies reported around the city included a man being robbed at gunpoint in the 1000 block of Rhode Island Ave. NE, a man robbed at gunpoint of his wallet in the 1800 block of West Virginia Ave. NE, and a robbery in the 1000 block of Geranium St. NW, in which police said the attacker fired an errant shot at the victim.

Several robberies involved masked assailants, Alali said, including one at 4 a.m. in the 7300 block of Georgia Ave. in which one gunman wore a ski mask and the other a skeleton mask. On Naylor Road in Southeast, Alali said, a robber wearing a ghoul mask knocked a man to the ground.