A congressman from Texas in the House of Representatives fell victim to a carjacking incident in Washington, D.C., at his home near the Navy Yard neighborhood.
NBC News reported that Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was carjacked on the evening of Oct. 2, about a mile from the Capitol Building. Jacob Hochberg, the congressman's chief of staff, confirmed the incident in a statement. According to Hochberg, Cuellar suffered no injuries during the attack.
"As Cuellar was parking his car, three armed assailants approached the congressman and stole his vehicle. Luckily, he was not harmed and is working with local law enforcement," the statement said. It also thanked the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) "for their swift action and for recovering the congressman's vehicle."
Both the MPD and the USCP confirmed the carjacking, with a spokesperson for the latter identifying the victim as a member of Congress. "The USCP has investigators working with MPD on this case. Injuries were not reported, [and] detectives are working to track down the suspects," they added.
Two sources within law enforcement later confirmed to NBC Washington that the congressman's car was recovered in the Anacostia neighborhood, two miles away from Navy Yard. The sources added that no arrests have been made.
The 68-year-old Cuellar later recounted the incident to NBC Washington on Oct. 3, adding that the three suspects "came out of nowhere" and pointed guns at him. "They had masks, but you could still see that they were young."
"I do have a black belt, but I recognize when you have three guns [pointed at you]. I looked at one with a gun, another with a gun [and] a third one behind me. They said they wanted my car, I said 'Sure.' You've got to keep calm in those situations. And then they took off."
First elected in 2004, Cuellar was reelected to a 10th term in Congress last November. He represents the Lone Star State's 28th district, which stretches from the Rio Grande to parts of the San Antonio suburbs.
Even politicians in the federal capital aren't immune to crime
The carjacking incident involving Cuellar is no petty matter, being at least the 754th such incident so far in 2023 per MPD data. That number is almost double the number of carjackings at this time in 2022. Nevertheless, NBC Washington noted that the increase in carjacking "is outpacing all other violent crime" in the District of Columbia. (Related: Washington, D.C. and other U.S. cities becoming war zones as crime skyrockets under Democrat control.)
Cuellar isn't the first member of Congress to be the victim of a carjacking. In December 2021, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) was carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia after attending a meeting.
According to an NBC News report at the time, two armed men approached the congresswoman for Pennsylvania and demanded the keys to her vehicle. She surrendered the keys, and one of the two criminals drove off with her car. The second man entered a separate vehicle and tailed his companion.
Scanlon suffered no injuries, and her vehicle was later found at a shopping center in Delaware. According to the Delaware State Police, five people inside the congresswoman's car were taken into custody.
NBC Washington also noted that the timing of the attack on Cuellar coincided with the House of Representatives giving members of Congress and their staffers a briefing on how to stay safe in the federal capital. It also followed several attacks on representatives and their staffers.
In February, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was assaulted in her Washington apartment building. She suffered several bruises but escaped serious injury at the hands of a repeat offender. According to Craig's chief of staff, the attack did not appear to be politically motivated.
The following month, a staffer for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was brutally stabbed as he left a restaurant. Fortunately, the staffer survived and fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in the March attack.
Visit Violence.news for more stories about attacks on politicians in the District of Columbia.
Watch Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy questioning White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the crime wave in Washington, D.C. below.
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