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Criminy, this news from the Examiner is unsettling. On Monday, D.C. police arrested Edwin K. Wright, 23, on charges of sexually assaulting three women in a single hour in downtown Washington. Wright was detained by a group of citizens after the third incident, when he tried to rape a woman outside a K Street office building.
The timeline went something like this: during the Monday evening rush hour, someone matching Wright's description punched a woman in the back of the head on Pennsylvania Avenue. A short while later, Metro Transit Police got a report that the same man may have tried to kiss and grab the breasts of a woman in the Farragut North Metro station. Then incredibly, at about 7:10 p.m., a man matching the same description grabbed a woman outside 1500 K Street NW and proceeded to sexually assault her. The Examiner says a small group of passersby who heard her screams then chased Wright across the street, eventually catching him and holding him until police arrived.
The names of the people who made that citizen's arrest isn't in the story -- but if any of them are reading this, allow DCist to thank you on behalf of our community. As disturbing as this story appears to be, it's a lot less painful to read it knowing the suspect was apprehended. You're all heroes in our book.
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hopefully they all took turns junkpunching him before the police arrived...
What ever happened to innocent before proven guilty? How do these "witnesses" know what they saw? Doesnt anyone watch Rashomon anymore? So this guy allegedly donkeypunches one woman and grabs another's boobie. I do that at least 3 times before elevenses. Where I come from, Planet Ten, those are a sign of greeting and respect. This is clearly a culteral misunderstanding.
quite possibly the creepiest story EVER
send him over the Murky Coffee where he can get punched in the dick.
Simultaniously, creepy and uplifting. Way to go Citizen Tacklers!
I don't want to make light of what is obviously a very serious situation, but what does "sexually assault" mean? It seems to be that from a legal stand point it is a very broad term. Was he trying to rape that woman, did he rape that women, did he just show off his junk, did he try to touch her inappropriately?
There seems to be a reasonable amount of this going around these days and it is always confusing. There are several different levels for assault, two dudes get drunk and punch each other is very different then a guy with a gun walking into a store and beating on the clerk. Are there also different categories of sexual assault?
Are there also different categories of sexual assault?
Yes
Follow some major college football stories and you'll find out all about the degrees of sexual assault and related charges.
Was he trying to rape that woman, did he rape that women, did he just show off his junk, did he try to touch her inappropriately?
I think that a lot of news agencies use the blanket term "sexual assault" to shield the victim from having the details of her assault made too public. You could argue that it reflects a sort of retrograde paternalistic attitude (i.e., a raped woman is "tarnished" so to protect her virtue, we must not make the rape known) but frankly I think it's a classy thing to do.
A very creepy, if not cut-and-dried case of a perv on the loose. Good thing people were around to catch him before he could do any irreparable harm.
But how about hose comments on the Examiner site? Holy scatterbrains, Batman. I've never seen so many people completely unable to iterate a cogent thought.
I think the comments function at the Examiner website is broken-- those comments seem to be from various months in 2007, all regarding different articles.
DAJ, read the link from the Examiner and I think, especailly for the third instance, there won't be much doubt in your mind as to what occured.
hat's off to the citizen tacklers/holders here--private citizens CAN make a difference...
I strolled into this scene on my way home from work just before the cops showed up. I saw two guys, one a bike messenger and the other a large guy in a tie, flag down the cruiser on the north side of the street. The victim was in front of me on the south side of K, being comforted by 3 people. More cops showed up, they apprehended the guy and slammed his face into the hood of the cruiser. Several people escorted the woman across the street to ID the guy. It was a bright and sunny evening at 7:15pm, right across from McPhearson Sq. Quite a startling scene.
When are we going to be able to feel safe on these streets?
"When are we going to be able to feel safe on these streets?"
Depends on what you mean by "feel safe". If you define "safe" as a 0% risk of being assaulted or otherwise harmed by some random street lunatic, I'd say the answer to your question is "never". Cities are full of people of all stripes, including some really bad apples who are going to do something harmful to someone else. It's as true in DC as it is in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Boston, or elsewhere.
What happened to the women as a result of this man's abhorent actions is hideous, but it's most evidently the result of the actions of a single individual--who was promptly dealt with. Unfortunately, this type of violenece will never completely go away; but considering the overall lack of violent crime that occurs around Farragut and McPherson, this event alone shouldn't alter one's perceptions as to the "safeness" of downtown streets.
On an unrelated note, who opened up the spray can of crazy on the Examiner message board? Thoroughly enjoyable reading.
Everyone go look at shearl's post on the examiner site.
I work in 1500 K street, and the building circulated a security alert today. While that's encouraging, about half of the alert was devoted to the "large population of homeless in our immediate area" around the building, and encouraged people to alert the police if they saw any homeless people being agressive.
Does anyone (Chief Welcher maybe?) know what the man arrested looked like, and whether he might be homeless? Or was this just my building invading Iraq to go after al Qaeda?
I'm all for citizen mobs chasing down men who harass women (and yes it's a sexual assault)!
Punching someone in the back of the head and running away is not sexual assault, however the other two incidents clearly are. The first involved grabbing someone, fondling their breasts and trying to kiss them, and in the last incident he pushed someone down on the ground and ripped off her underwear before groping her. The only confusion here, honestly, is in the headline or in the minds of people reading it too literally.
im waiting for the assaulter to sue the guys who tackled him to the ground...
In response to topher...
The guy didn't look homeless, in that his tee shirt was a clean white, and he was quite fit (although a tall man, at least 6'2", he was well-nourished and strong enough to give 3 cops a pretty difficult time with his struggles). And for what it's worth, he also had shoulder-length dreadlocks. The original article said he's from Southeast, so I imagine that it's unlikely he lives in McPhearson Sq.
So yes, it sounds like your office will now be combing the square for WMDs.
The followup from FOX said that a crowd of 20 people chased him, is that true?
I may have to move back to DC. Please tell me I won't be surrounded by people who parse and debate like DAJ, Kev29 and Reid. Please. Because I don't think I'll be able to stand it.
Ah, there's no justice like angry mob justice.
Those concealed weapons permits can't come soon enough.
He. I said "come."