Rep. Henry Cuellar Gives Firsthand Account of Being Carjacked

Rep. Henry Cuellar offered his firsthand account Tuesday after he was carjacked at gunpoint Monday night.

“I was just coming into my place. Three guys came out of nowhere and they pointed guns at me. I do have a black belt, but I recognize when you got three, three guns — I looked at one with a gun and another with a gun, a third one behind me — So they said they wanted my car. I said, ‘Sure.’ You’ve got to keep calm under those situations. And then they took off,” Cuellar told reporters Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill.

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Cuellar was carjacked around 9:30 p.m. Monday night in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. — just blocks away from the US Capitol, according to police. {snip}

“According to the victim’s statements, the suspects ‘swarmed [the victim’s] vehicle, pointed firearms in his face and demanded the keys to the car.’ {snip}” a statement from Capitol Police said. “A witness told investigators three males inknit caps and ski masks were involved. The witness reported that the suspects were 5’10” black males who may have been around the age of 16 due to their build.”

Washington surpassed 200 homicides thus far this year {snip}

Some neighborhoods have suffered from the recent crime wave, including Ward 6, which includes the site where Cuellar was carjacked and is the largest ward in D.C. Armed robberies in Ward 6 are up 95%, according to the DC Police Union.

Carjackings are also up 57% in the district, and there have been over 720 carjackings year to date — “well more than two per day,” the police union said.

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