The Metropolitan Police Department is on the lookout for two people who robbed a Northeast D.C. coffee shop at gunpoint on Feb. 17. Officials said the two suspects entered the store in the 1900 block of Michigan Avenue, NE around 7:32 p.m.
Police are searching for two Black suspects, who allegedly robbed a Northeast D.C. coffee shop on Feb. 17. (Metropolitan Police Department)
According to the police, the suspects walked into Avondale Coffee Shop and started pointing guns at the employees. Police said the suspects demanded the employees unlock the cash register and the safe. The men fled the scene and ran to the corner of Allison Street and 19th Place, NE where another suspect was waiting in a white Chevy Malibu for the robbers, police said.
A security guard, working at a store in the area, saw the suspects running away and tried to stop them, but the driver of the Chevy Malibu hit the security guard and the suspects drove away. Authorities released video surveillance of the incident on Feb. 25.
The video shows a victim falling to the ground losing a shoe while trying to escape the store.
There were at least three customers in the shop during the armed robbery, police reported. The establishment did not respond before press time to comment on the incident.
The suspected robbers are described as two Black men wearing black coats and jeans.
The robbery is a rare occurrence, according to police data. As of Feb. 23, robberies overall in the district are down 30 percent (364 robberies from 522 in 2016), according to the department’s data.
MPD statistics indicate that 69 juveniles have been arrested so far in 2017 for robbery. According to the department cash and cell phones are the common theft targets.
Rachel Reid, a spokesperson for the police force, attributes the decrease in robberies to the department’s detectives and community partnerships. “MPD works hard to close every case, including robberies,” Reid told the AFRO Feb. 24. “Many of the perpetrators are caught shortly after an incident for several reasons, including the quick response of our officers and detailed suspect descriptions provided by witnesses.” Reid added that video surveillance, like the one released for the Feb. 17 armed robbery, also helps to solve cases and deter crime.
In 2015, D.C. police partnered with the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants to launch the Private Security Camera Incentive Program. The program provides a rebate for residents and business owners who purchase security cameras for their property and registers those cameras with the police.