Senate staffer robbed at gunpoint, police say

WASHINGTON - A Senate staffer was robbed Thursday night in Northeast D.C., according to police. 

Amanda Peper, a schedule in the office of U.S. Senator Katie Britt, was robbed at gunpoint at 8:20 p.m. Thursday. 

Peper told police she had parked her car and was walking to her building when the suspect point a handgun to her face and said, "give me your purse and keys." 

The robber then took her belongings and her vehicle and fled. 

"We thank God that she is safe and sound after this terrifying incident, and we're grateful to the Capitol Police Department and Metropolitan Police Department officers who quickly and professionally responded to the scene. It is infuriating and completely unacceptable that an American who is on Capitol Hill to serve her country cannot safely walk the streets of Washington, D.C. at 8:30 at night because of the out-of-control crime in this city. Just look at the police department’s own numbers – this year, robberies are up 68% and motor vehicle thefts are up 102%. Local elected officials in the District of Columbia have the responsibility not just to their citizens, but to the country, to step up and get a hold of the crime crisis ravaging the streets of our nation’s capital," said Senator Katie Britt in a statement.