The summer of 2006 in Washington was marred by a series of brutal attacks on the National Mall that garnered worldwide attention and the focus of area law enforcement.
At least 12 tourists were robbed and assaulted at gunpoint under the shadows of the Washington Monument and the Museum of Natural History. A 17-year-old girl was dragged into a group of bushes near the Smithsonian castle, where she was raped at gunpoint.
“Virtually overnight, this place of public pride became a place of public danger,” former U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein said.
The Mall crimes coincided with a 14 percent increase in robberies District-wide. After the city witnessed 13 murders in a span of 11 days, including the fatal throat-slashing of a British man in Georgetown, D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey declared a crime emergency.
About a dozen federal agencies — including the FBI, U.S. attorney’s office, U.S. Capitol Police, U.S. Park Police and U.S. Marshals Service — established several task forces and began serving warrants on violent criminals.
An intensive investigation, led by U.S. Park Police detectives, quickly resulted in the arrest of five young men, ages 16 to 22. Within 32 days of their arrests, they all had pleaded guilty. City officials hailed the arrests and offered assurances to the 40 million visitors of the Mall that it was safe. There have been no similar attacks on the Mall since, and citywide crime dropped 20 percent largely due to the crime emergency and the coordinationbetween city and federal task forces, Mayor Anthony Williams said.
However, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., discovered an overworked and understaffed Park Police force and serious gaps in the Mall’s lighting system that makes it easy for criminals to hide in the shadows. Last week, she promised more congressional oversight and funding to strengthen the Park Police and protect the Mall.
