December 1, 2010 | 4:36 PM | By

Tis the Season…to be Careful

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Crime, Georgetown

DCentric

Hey, holiday shoppers-- be careful out there!

Worrisome, but predictable (via TBD):

D.C. police second district commander Matt Klein sent out an email saying a woman was robbed last night shortly after leaving the Georgetown Apple Store on Wisconsin Avenue NW near M Street.  As she was headed to the 3300 block of N Street, a pair of thieves threw her to the ground and fled with the two laptops she’d just bought.

According to Klein, it appears the woman was tailed from the store. “The suspects may have been waiting for someone to leave the store with large bags or other obvious indications of a large purchase,” Klein wrote.

Last Christmas (I gave you my heart), I was still living in Georgetown and I was always a little paranoid about exactly this happening– not that I was dropping a few thousand dollars for anything as spiffy as a new Mac, but still. There were plenty of logo-covered bags bearing loot, hundreds of shoppers carrying too much stuff and nowhere near enough vigilance. Several times a day, I saw people on M street put down their shopping bags and turn around to use the PNC Bank ATM which is next to Old Glory, blithely assuming their packages were safe.

I think some people are lulled in to a warm, fuzzy sense of complacency because it IS Georgetown, but that’s the wrong attitude to have. It may be an expensive neighborhood to live and shop in, but that’s exactly what would make it attractive to people coveting shiny white and silver toys.

About the author

DCentric was created to examine the ways race and class interact in Washington, D.C., a city with a vibrant mix of cultures and neighborhoods. Your guides to the changing district are reporters Anna John and Elahe Izadi. View all posts by Anna →

  • Judithclaire

    Just sayin’… why do newer folks say: I thought this was a “safe” neighborhood? Because they see “whiteness” and I won’t spell that out…it may be a “white thang.” Even some of the “fancy,” white coop/condo buildings all over the city have drug users…yes, white, who have their drugs delivered like pizza! They do not have to go out in the street…the young people in the street go to prison and the users just keep on keepin’ on as the drugs are brought up from…yes, Mexico. So, we give Mexico helicopters to fight…but what are we doing about our well to do drug users? hmmmm…just sayin’