Security officer shoots man during armed robbery at Chinatown Walgreens
Washington DC February 12 2024 A security officer who was also a special police officer, shot and wounded a man who authorities say took a firearm from another officer during a robbery attempt Sunday at a Walgreens pharmacy in D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood, according to D.C. police.
The man who was shot was treated at a hospital for critical injuries, police said in a statement. A police spokesman said authorities expect to charge him in as many as eight previous robberies, many at the same drugstore targeted Sunday. His name was not immediately made public.
For the past several months, law enforcement officials have paid special attention to the Chinatown area — a hub of businesses and restaurants in downtown D.C. that includes the Chinatown-Gallery Place Metro station. Police have made arrests, and prosecutors have obtained court-ordered stay-away orders in hopes of keeping offenders out of the area.
Business owners, including executives from Monumental Sports & Entertainment — which owns the Capital One Arena and its two principal tenants, the Washington Capitals and Wizards — complained at a community meeting last summer of drug dealing, loitering and other crimes that they said put patrons and staff members at risk. The area is often cited as an example of how D.C.’s downtown has deteriorated in the wake of the pandemic. In December, the owner of the two sports franchises announced plans to move the teams to a new arena in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood in Northern Virginia as soon as 2028.
Sunday’s robbery occurred about 6:30 p.m. at the Walgreens at Seventh and H streets NW, across the street from the Metro station and two blocks from the arena. Police said an armed man entered the pharmacy and followed a security officer to a backroom, then took the officer’s firearm.
“At that point the suspect was armed with two firearms,” police said in a statement. Police said a second special police officer fired his weapon and wounded the man.
Armed security officers in DC, called special police officers, are licensed by the District. D.C. and police said their criminal investigation division and internal affairs are investigating Sunday’s shooting.
Tom Lynch, a police spokesman, said the man who was shot is suspected in several previous armed robberies in the area, including at that same Walgreens. Additional details are expected to be made public later Monday.
This is the third shooting involving special police officers during retail incidents in the past thirty days.
