Uber driver Christain Bekeni survived an attempted armed carjacking by four teens Monday in Southeast D.C. when gunshots meant for him instead hit one of the suspects.
At about 10 p.m., Mr. Bekeni stopped in the 4400 block of 3rd Street SE to pick up passengers. When he arrived, he saw four teens, two of them armed.
“The one guy by my door asked me to step out of the car. I said, ’What do you mean?’” Mr. Bekeni recounted to WUSA 9.
One of the armed suspects entered the vehicle, which is when Mr. Bekeni hit the gas. Both armed teenagers are accused of firing their weapons as he sped away. But instead of hitting Mr. Bekeni, the teen in the car was struck in the shoulder instead.
“I heard two gunshots in the air, bang bang. [One of the suspects] started screaming ’somebody shot my hand, somebody shot my hand,’” Mr. Bekeni explained to WUSA 9.
It was at this juncture that the suspect in the car exited the vehicle, leaving behind a gun and a trail of blood. Mr. Bekeni went to South Capitol Street to flag down police.
The Metropolitan Police Department had been summoned to the scene by Shotspotter technology picking up the sound of gunshots, but found no suspects at 3rd Street by the time they arrived.
Officers did find two shell casings and a gun at the scene. They were also able to confirm through Mr. Bekeni’s app that a ride had been called for at that location, according to NBC 4 Washington.
From there, officers waited for signs of the injured suspect.
“Officers canvassed a nearby hospital, and police were on hand when the injured teen showed up for treatment of a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the shoulder around midnight. He was placed under arrest,” MPD First District Watch Commander Lt. Dien-Long Tran told WUSA 9.
Mr. Bekeni was uninjured. The other three suspects are still at large.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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