by jc » Wed Jul 12, 2006 6:49 pm
<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Nation's Capital Declares Crime Emergency</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>Jul 12 11:26 AM US/Eastern By BRETT ZONGKER<br>Associated Press Writer<br><br>WASHINGTON<br><br>Two groups of tourists were robbed at gunpoint on the National Mall, just hours after the police chief declared <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>a crime emergency</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> in the city in response to a string of violence that included <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>the killing of a British activist.<br></strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>The activist, Alan Senitt, was attacked in the Georgetown area on Sunday, his throat was slit and police say the attackers attempted to rape his companion. It was the 13th homicide in the city this month. Robberies are up 14 percent, and armed assaults have jumped 18 percent in the past 30 days.<br><br>On Wednesday, U.S. Park Police were looking for connections between the latest Mall robberies and three similar incidents in the area in late May. There have been no arrests in any of those cases.<br><br>On Tuesday night, two women from Texas were robbed at gunpoint by <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>two men dressed in all black</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->, said <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>U.S. Park Police Sgt. Scott <!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START--><span style="text-decoration:underline">Fear</span><!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END-->.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->[What? Scott waht?] About 15 minutes later, a family of four from Missouri was robbed by <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>suspects with the same description</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->, he said.<br><br>Though no one was injured, <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Fear said</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> there were similarities to three violent attacks on the National Mall in May. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>In one case, a 17-year- old woman was sexually assaulted.<br></strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>"We try to prevent this from happening," Fear said. "We're going to reallocate our resources. We're going to see what improvements we can make."<br><br>District of Columbia Police Chief Charles Ramsey declared a crime emergency in the city after Senitt, a volunteer for the potential presidential campaign of former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, was killed.<br><br>The crime emergency declaration allows commanders more flexibility to adjust officers' schedules and reassign them to high-crime areas.<br><br>The tourist-friendly National Mall, which is under the jurisdiction of Park Police rather than D.C. police, is usually considered safe. But the recent crimes against tourists have raised calls for a larger police presence.<br><br>Police are asking Mall visitors to <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>" <br></strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/07/12/D8IQH9P05.html">www.breitbart.com/news/20...H9P05.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"be our eyes and ears," Fear said. "We're going to ask them to be vigilant."</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>Fear has spoken, what's your word? <p></p><i></i>