WASHINGTON — Four children and teen, all girls; between 11 and 14 years old, were under arrest on Friday after a woman was attacked in Union Station.
A 12-year-old and 14-year-old were arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on Friday, booking the girls with assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to riot, simple assault and disorderly conduct.
On Thursday, 11-year-old and 13-year-old girls a 13-year-old girl were arrested after videos of an assault outside of Union Station began appearing online.
Investigators said the underage suspects walked up to a woman as she was walking out of Union Station, the girls reportedly punched and kicked the woman.
“Chief Pamela A. Smith and The Metropolitan Police Department announce additional arrests in connection to an egregious assault recorded on video that occurred in Northeast,” an MPD spokesperson said on Friday.
The attack, according to a police report, happened on Sun., Feb. 16. Investigators believe that one of the girls had recorded the attack, while encouraging the others to keep going.
Also on Friday, the four girls had a hate crime enhancement added onto their existing charges. An MPD report described the Union Station attack as “anti-Hispanic or Latino” and “Anti-multiple races, group.”
“The detectives investigation revealed the suspects potentially being motivated by hate or bias,” an MPD spokesperson said on Friday.
And when people tried to intervene in the attack, police said the suspects assaulted them, too. Although an MPD spokesperson added that none of the victims was “seriously injured” during the attacks.
On Thursday, Chief Pamela Smith said she supported her colleagues’ decision to arrest the girls.
“The actions of these young suspects are disturbing and deeply disheartening for all of us who care for the youngest people in our community,” said Chief of Police Pamela A. Smith. “There is absolutely zero tolerance for this behavior in our city. Harming our community like this will result in your arrest and prosecution, no matter your age. It is on all of us who care for our young people to ensure they don’t follow this path.”
Police say the girls may be involved in similar attacks in neighboring jurisdictions and are working with those police departments to investigate.
On Friday, during a fireside chat, Mayor Muriel Bowser said she believes that juvenile crime, in general, should be treated seriously.
“We can’t treat juvenile crime as some sort of joyride or kids being kids. Kids have to be dealt with who are committing crimes,” the mayor said on Friday. “Our police are making good arrests, and we’re going to work with the attorney general’s office to make sure that the law is being applied to these kids.”