Photo by Kyle Walton.

D.C. police are searching for two men who violently attacked and robbed an elderly couple inside a parking garage attached to the Best Buy in Tenleytown. According to Second District Lieutenant Alan E. Hill, the suspects — both 5′ 8″ or 5′ 9″ “skinny” black men who were wearing dark clothing — approached the couple inside the parking garage attached to the shopping center at 4500 Wisconsin Avenue NW around 4:30 p.m. on Monday, and proceeded to punch and knock both to the ground. After a struggle, the robbers were able to take a piece of property from the man before they fled.

A witness account from an American University listserv was forwarded to the MPD-2D email list:

Unfortunately, I witnessed the entire thing, it happened so fast I couldn’t stop them even though I did block their escape for a minute with my truck. But since I was wearing my crocs (floppy soft rubber shoes) on my feet I could not pursue.

I had noticed the the two young male(s) in the Best Buy acting odd, just didn’t seem right, something off. They had apparently stalked their prey and watched them buy an iPad followed them to the garage and when the old man was putting the bag into the back seat the thugs grabbed the old lady and threw her to ground (so hard she split her head and was bleeding) and pushed the old man into the car ripping the bag with the iPad in it so hard they tore his thumb and dislocated it. A third kid was acting as look out and they seem to have caught him.

Hill notes that police who responded to the scene did “detain a third individual for an interview,” but that the investigation remains open. Police are asking anyone with additional information about the crime to call them at 202-727-9099.