During a recent panel discussion, Washington DC’s attorney general told residents concerned about skyrocketing crime rates that his department could not “prosecute and arrest our way out of the problem.”
AG Brian Schwalb specifically addressed the epidemic of violent crime — including massive numbers of carjackings — currently plaguing the nation’s capital.
a clip from the panel which was initially broadcast by Fox 5 has been viewed almost 300,000 times on X.
Word has spread, and the AG’s shocking statement comes in the wake of a violent criminal attack by a carjacker on Monday evening that left one area resident dead and another — a former Trump administration official — in critical condition remained.
The number of carjackings has increased by more than 100 percent since 2022. Residents are concerned that local authorities are not doing enough to hold criminals to account, an alarming number of whom are children under the age of 18.
On Monday evening, a 28-year-old suspect went on a deadly carjacking in D.C.’s business district, shooting Mike Gill, a married father of three, around 5:45 p.m.
On Monday evening, a 28-year-old suspect went on a deadly carjacking in D.C.’s business district, shooting Mike Gill, a married father of three, around 5:45 p.m.
Gill, who remains in critical condition, was reportedly in his car waiting to pick up his wife when Artell Cunningham attacked him.
The victim managed to exit his vehicle before collapsing and being taken to hospital.
A witness to the incident reported it the Washington Post that his wife “ran up to her husband and took his hand” and asked him what had happened. She got no answer.
The victim was wearing “a shirt and a sweater, sprawled out on the sidewalk with one foot still on the passenger side of a car.” His right hand was shaking as blood pooled around his head,” the witness added.
Gill currently serves as senior VP of Capital Markets at the Housing Policy Council. He previously served in the Trump administration as chief of staff at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and represented the Republican Party in an appointed role on the DC Board of Elections.
In the early 1990s, he served as deputy director of Bush-Quayle’s re-election campaign and held various positions on Capitol Hill, working for several Republican members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
About an hour after seriously wounding Gill, the suspect unsuccessfully tried to carjack another person on the other side of town.
A few minutes later, he targeted another victim, this time with his 2016 Chrysler 200, shooting him dead. The victim was 35-year-old father of two, Alberto Vasquez, Jr.
Alberto Vasquez, Jr., (center) was just 35 when he was shot and killed by a man during a carjacking through Washington, DC, on Monday evening. He was the father of two young daughters (pictured here)
Gill, seen here with his wife and three children in a photo taken just two weeks before he was shot
The suspect – Artell Cunningham (pictured) – in the fatal carjackings was shot and killed by two officers in New Carrollton, MD, early Tuesday morning after continuing his string of crimes, including at least two more carjackings and shooting at a number of police officers. cruisers
Washington, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb recently told a group of concerned DC residents that his office cannot “prosecute” the city due to the massive crime wave it is currently experiencing
Jacob Walker, Vasquez’s father, said his son just voted 35 10 days ago and now, “His daughters will never get the chance to talk to him again.” No weddings, nothing’
Vasquez is being remembered by his family, including his mother Antoinette Walker, who told Fox 5 that the number of families affected by violent carjackings — including hers now — “doesn’t add up.”
Jacob Walker, Vasquez’s father, said his son just voted 35 10 days ago and now, “His daughters will never get the chance to talk to him again.” No weddings, nothing.”
The Walkers say the loss is especially painful because they made the decision to move their family from New York to Virginia about 25 years ago, in part because of safety concerns.
Jacob Walker said he “never expected that I would… have to bury my child because of something as senseless as a carjacking.”
He further lamented how “normal” it has seemingly become to “take another person’s life,” adding that the constant death is undoubtedly taking a toll on the law enforcement officers and reporters who inform families about their lost loved ones and tell their stories.
‘You do the same thing over and over again. It’s not healthy. It cannot possibly be healthy for the human spirit to endure tragedy after tragedy. You hold a camera and you see another family and another family. They just become names and faces,” Walker said.
‘What are we doing? Where are we going, you know? He didn’t have to die. He didn’t have to die. He didn’t deserve to die. Not like this.’
The suspect in the fatal carjackings was shot and killed by two officers in New Carrollton, MD, early Tuesday morning after continuing his string of crimes, including at least two more carjackings and shooting at a number of police cruisers.
DC Police Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said the man, Artell Cunningham, had a minor criminal history and appeared to be in the midst of a mental health crisis.
Led by Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser (pictured) and a majority Democratic City Council, DC saw nearly 1,000 carjackings in 2023 alone
In the days leading up to Cunningham’s deadly attack, the city of D.C. experienced about 60 carjackings in a span of just 72 hours. according to Fox 5.
Carjackings, many of which are violent in nature, are a huge problem in the city.
Under the leadership of Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser and a majority Democratic City Council, D.C. saw nearly 1,000 carjackings in 2023 alone.
That figure is more than 600 percent higher than the 148 reported carjacking cases in DC in 2018.