Teenager, 17, is charged as adult for armed carjacking of FBI agent in Washington DC as crime among young people spirals out of control

A teenager has been charged as an adult in the alleged armed carjacking of an FBI agent in Washington DC.

Devonta Lynch, 17, was arrested and charged in connection with the incident that occurred last Wednesday.

Lynch and another suspect allegedly carjacked the FBI agent at gunpoint in the 100 block of 12th Street in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood.

The vehicle was found approximately 30 minutes later and returned to the officer, who reported that ammunition was missing from the car.

The officer told investigators that she had been standing in the driver's side doorway of her car when she was approached from behind.

According to DC News Nowthe officer said she was “knocked to the ground in an unknown manner and became disoriented.”

Court documents show it was the person who held the gun and demanded the keys to her vehicle.

The officer said she thought she was struggling with the gunman over the keys when she suffered cuts to her lips before handing over the keys.

Investigators were able to obtain video footage from 15th Street of the two suspects exiting the vehicle and running away.

NBC reported that an FBI SWAT team arrested Lynch at his home, with FBI-issued ammunition found by detectives in a closet in the residence.

Lynch was suspended from high school the Wednesday of the incident and the day before.

The teen is being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

Carjackings in the nation's capital have more than doubled this year, up 104%, including a United Arab Emirates diplomat and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas.

Cuellar was hijacked near the Capitol in October by three armed assailants, who stole his car but did not physically harm him.

Last month, Secret Service agents protecting President Biden's granddaughter opened fire after three people tried to break into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle. No one was affected.

Violent crime in Washington is also up this year, by more than 40% compared to last year.

Last month, a D.C. mother reported her 12-year-old son to police after suspecting him of a carjacking.

The boy, who has not yet been identified, was turned over after his mother recognized her son in a photo of the suspect shared by authorities.

His alleged accomplice who was shot and killed by police is 13-year-old Vernard Toney Jr. Toney was described by his school principal as “a bright and talented student.”

A D.C. Police Department detective and member of the carjacking task force testified in court last month that surveillance video captured the two boys approaching the car from behind.

The car was owned by an off-duty federal security agent who sat in the vehicle and checked his phone before going to work.

A detective said the video showed the two boys appeared to have a conversation before placing their right hands on their waistbands and continuing to walk toward the officer's car.

The detective said the 13-year-old walked right along the sidewalk, opened the passenger side door and entered the vehicle.

The 12-year-old was identified as the suspect who walked around the front of the car, opened the driver's side door and said, “Get the [expletive] out. You know what this is,” the off-duty officer said.

The officer said the juvenile kept his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun, and that's when the officer opened fire. Toney was shot and the other accomplice ran away.

Toney, a seventh-grader, had been a suspect in a number of previous carjackings. He was arrested in May in connection with several such crimes that occurred in Southeast DC.

It's not clear what happened to these cases, though crime-ridden DC is infamous for recent efforts to ease sentences for criminals in an effort to promote racial “equality.”

The number of carjackings in the nation's capital is so high that Mayor Muriel Bowser recently announced that residents of certain parts of the city will receive free AirTags during events held from November 7 to 9.

Bowser said at the press conference, “These tags and tiles will help MPD recover stolen vehicles and hold people accountable.

“It will also get the word out that this is not a community that comes in and steals cars.”

During the distribution event, police officers will help install the tags in cars. The tag can be installed anywhere in the car and its location is not accessible to the police.

The free AirTags work the same as Apple designed them. If a car is stolen, the owner can look up its location in the 'Find My' app on their Apple iPhone.