Attack at 11th and R?

[dasgeh]

I saw this article about 4 men “in from the suburbs” for a bike race being attacked by possibly 20 men at 11th and R. WTF? Anyone know more? Sounds like guys riding back from Greenbelt…

[Powerful Pete]

Google brought this up: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/07/caught-on-camera-4-bicyclists-savagely-attacked-by-as-many-as-20-men-115625.html

It happened Saturday night and there is video of the suspects attacking the cyclists.

Not too pleasant.

[bobco85]

This is upsetting news. Here is an article that has a video showing part of the assault (not recommended to watch): http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/07/caught-on-camera-4-bicyclists-savagely-attacked-by-as-many-as-20-men-115625.html (edit: just realized that Pete had posted the article while I was typing my response)

Long story short, while the 4 victims were participating in a bike competition, a group of 20 people scoped them out and attacked them when they went to load their bikes into/on their cars. Cowards, all 20 of them.

As an aside, I have ridden through this area at night on R Street coming from the MBT without any trouble before, but I do think extra caution is necessary if traveling through this neighborhood.

[GovernorSilver]

Is that in Shaw? I thought that was supposed to be a trendy neighborhood now.

[PotomacCyclist]

Yes, that’s in the Shaw/Logan Circle neighborhood. I also thought it was a trendy neighborhood. I mapped some of the bike racks there this month. I saw a mix of people there, from commuters in business dress apparently returning from work to those who appeared to be recent college grads, blue-collar workers but also a couple rougher types. I say this because I did have an encounter myself, which I mentioned on another thread. I was there in the early evening, maybe 6:30 pm when it was still light out. There were people walking around everywhere, but when I stopped on a sidewalk, I had an issue. Maybe there’s an unwritten rule that you don’t stop near certain businesses or something else.

Whatever it was, two young men (African American, maybe late teens or early 20s, neatly dressed in polo shirts and clean pants) walked by. One guy started demanding a quarter. I said I didn’t have anything and looked away. I thought that would be it but the other guy followed up and started swearing at me, “Give us a f

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quarter.” He repeated that multiple times, in a very angry and aggressive tone. I was parked at the moment. Otherwise, I would have just ridden on. I held still, not wanting to show any fear. I tried to stay alert, in case that guy came after me with a weapon or just his fists. They walked on and went into the local store.

I’ve ridden through most of the neighborhoods in central DC this summer, both wealthy and poor. The only other incident I’ve faced was the red-headed homeless guy at the Capitol Riverfront. (That guy rushed at me from the side and slammed his boot into the back of my bike, a CaBi. Then he just walked off without saying a word.) I didn’t have any problems in Anacostia, in NoMa when I rode near Sursum Corda, near Union Station and Massachusetts Ave. when I rode by the two homeless shelters there or anywhere else. I didn’t have any problems with anyone else in that neighborhood either, just those two individuals. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were also involved in the group attack. Whoever it is, I hope the police catch them quickly.

On the other hand, I’ve had friendly brief conversations with many passersby of all backgrounds, in many neighborhoods in DC and Arlington. Overall, my interactions have been positive. But the bad apples can be really bad.

The police did manage to locate the individuals involved in multiple attacks near the Metropolitan Branch Trail last year or this year. There had been several attacks, including some near Edgewood where the trail goes on-road. I think the police found and arrested a suspect within a week. Someone knows who the attackers in Shaw are.

[Author]

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