House Dem. Henry Cuellar carjacked near the Capitol

Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was carjacked a mile from the Capitol on Monday, Oct. 2, according to a release by his chief of staff, Jacob Hochberg. The release said Cuellar was parking his car in the Navy Yard neighborhood around 9:30 p.m. when a small group of armed robbers approached him.

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“As Congressman Cuellar was parking his car this evening, 3 armed assailants approached the Congressman and stole his vehicle,” Hochberg said in the release. “Luckily, he was not harmed and is working with local law enforcement.”

According to police, Cuellar’s vehicle was recovered shortly after in the Anacostia neighborhood, about two miles from where it was stolen. Police are investigating, and no arrests have been made.

“D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department is investigating an armed carjacking that happened around 9:30 p.m. in D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood,” a statement from U.S. Capitol Police read. “The victim has been identified as a Member of Congress, so the USCP has investigators working with MPD on this case. Injuries were not reported. Detectives are working to track down the suspects.”

This carjacking marks the second time armed assailants hijacked a member of Congress. In 2021, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., was carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia by five armed robbers.

Cuellar’s run-in with armed assailants also marks the second high-profile crime against a member of Congress in Washington, D.C., this year. In Feb., Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn, was assaulted in her apartment but escaped without serious injuries. According to Craig’s chief of staff, the attack did not appear to be politically motivated.

Cuellar, 68, is one of many victims of carjackings in the D.C. area this year. According to the Washington Post carjackings in D.C. have become more frequent. On average, one carjacking is reported every day, up from one reported carjacking every three days in the two years before the pandemic.

The latest data from D.C. police shows there have been 750 carjackings this year, as of Sunday, Oct. 1. Seventy-five percent of those incidents involved guns.