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Attempted kidnapping victim speaks
A man who was targeted by kidnapping suspects who are terrorizing the District spoke to FOX 5 on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON - D.C. police are still hunting for the kidnapping suspects who are ripping people off of city streets and forcing them to withdraw money from ATMs.
Some of the cases have involved violent assaults and zip ties or bags placed over people’s heads.
One of the kidnappings was caught on front-door camera. In this incident, the victim was walking alone around 1:15 a.m. last Thursday when he was approached by about three suspects.
When he tried to run away, a suspect kicked the victim down. The victim said he was also punched and told FOX 5 he thought he was going to be killed after the suspects had pressed three handguns against his body. He was forced in to a vehicle and later forced to remove money from an ATM.
Witnesses believe the man was into a vehicle that was waiting in a nearby alley.
In another case from this past weekend, the victim managed to avoid being kidnapped.
"Three individuals approached me from the right of which one of them had what appeared to be a handgun drawn immediately, pointed right at me," the victim told FOX 5.
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We are not identifying this victim, but we did speak with him about the incident. He told FOX 5 one suspect did have a zip tie in-hand and that he was cooperating … until one suspect became agitated and tapped in with the gun.
It was at that point that the victim told FOX 5 he realized the gun felt more like an airsoft gun and not an actual pistol. He then began to challenge the suspects, broke free and chased them into a nearby alley – where the victim said he saw a vehicle that appeared to be on and possibly waiting for the suspects.
"Probably wouldn’t recommend chasing after people. You can probably put yourself in greater danger … but again, everything happened very quickly – a lot of adrenaline– and that’s just the way the events unfolded," the victim told FOX 5.
The victim also told us he didn’t know at the time that other people were actually forced into vehicles and in some cases, assaulted. "It’s just awful, it’s heartbreaking to hear those types of things are happening. You can only ask people to be so vigilant," he added.
While this victim was not actually kidnapped, D.C police still connect his case to the at least 6 kidnapping cases announced on Monday.
Police also believe the suspects are armed and do not want people to risk their safety if approached.
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No arrests were announced on Tuesday.
A statement send to FOX 5 from the D.C. Council Judiciary and Public Safety Committee Chair Charles Allen, reads: "I've been in touch with MPD leadership about these scary incidents, and I'm confident they're pursuing every lead. These people will be held accountable for their actions. Information that can help with the investigation can be shared anonymously with D.C. police's Tip Line at 202-727-9099 or by texting 50411."