College grad, friends robbed at gunpoint near DC's Union Market in broad daylight

WASHINGTON — A recent college graduate and friends were robbed at gunpoint near Union Market in D.C. Sunday afternoon. Now, police are searching for two suspects.

The graduate, who requested anonymity out of safety concerns, said he and a group of about 10 of his friends and family were walking up 5th Street Northeast toward Union Market Sunday.

“Just enjoying the weekend after graduating," he said.

It was around 1 o'clock in the afternoon when they reached Florida Avenue Northeast — blocks away from the market.

At that moment, he said two guys ran up to two of his friends who were at the back of the pack, pointed a gun at them, and demanded their possessions.

His friends handed over a wallet and a watch, as he said the suspects tried to grab their phones and break them, he presumed, so they couldn't call police.

“I yell police as loud as I can…I think that startled them," he said. "And then that's at that point, they just started sprinting back towards H Street…I couldn't believe it to be honest, because I just saw them getting away. And I was like, there's nothing I could do.”

The student then called police, who released images of the two suspects from nearby surveillance cameras.

Another issue -- he said he was on hold with the 911 dispatcher for close to 10 minutes as he watched the alleged thieves run away.

“That was just ridiculous that it happened [on a] bright and sunny, beautiful day," he said. "You know, we're all just enjoying ourselves and almost at Union Market, like a really, really crowded area."

He's not optimistic that they'll ever retrieve the items that were taken, but he said it's about more than things.

“We just want to hopefully, contribute to crime getting a little bit less severe," he said.

D.C. crime data shows that robberies with a gun within 2000 feet of Union Market have increased from the same time last year.

Across the District, robberies overall are up 22% from the same time last year.