DC AG tells angry locals his department ‘cannot prosecute and arrest our way out of’ crime spiral that saw Trump official shot during carjacking that killed second victim, and 60 car break-ins in 72 hours

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By Maya Cantina

  • The nation’s capital is currently suffering a major crime wave, to which city officials have offered no adequate solution 
  • The number of DC carjackings – many of which are violent – has skyrocketed more than 600 percent in the last five years
  • One such incident on Monday night left a father-of-two dead, and a father-of-three in critical condition 

During a recent panel, the Attorney General for Washington, DC told residents concerned by the skyrocketing crime rate that his department could not ‘prosecute and arrest our way out’ of the problem.

AG Brian Schwalb was specifically talking about the epidemic of violent crime – including enormous numbers of carjackings – that is currently plaguing the nation’s capital.

A clip of the panel that was initially aired by Fox 5 has been viewed on X close to 300,000 times.

It’s circulation and the AG’s shocking statement come in the wake of a violent criminal spree by a carjacker on Monday evening that left one area resident dead and another – a former Trump administration official – in critical condition.

Incidents of carjacking have increased more than 100 percent year-over-year since 2022. Residents are concerned that local authorities are not doing enough to hold accountable the criminals, an alarming number of whom are kids under the age of 18. 

On Monday evening, a 28-year-old suspect began a fatal carjacking spree in the business district of DC, where he shot Mike Gill, a married father-of-three at around 5.45pm 

On Monday evening, a 28-year-old suspect began a fatal carjacking spree in the business district of DC, where he shot Mike Gill, a married father-of-three at around 5.45pm.

Gill, who remains in critical condition, had reportedly been sitting in his vehicle waiting to collect his wife when Artell Cunningham attacked him.

The victim managed to exit his vehicle before collapsing and being taken to the hospital.

A witness to the incident told the Washington Post that his wife ‘ran toward her husband and grabbed his hand,’ asking him what happened. She got no response.

The victim was wearing ‘a dress shirt and sweater, sprawled on the pavement with one foot still in the passenger’s side of a car. His right hand was twitching as blood pooled around his head,’ the witness added.

Gill currently works as a senior VP for Capital Markets at the Housing Policy Council, he previously served in the Trump administration as the chief of staff at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and represented the GOP in an appointed role on the DC Board of Elections.

In the early 90’s, he was a deputy director of the Bush-Quayle re-election campaign and held several positions on Capitol Hill working for various Republican members of the House and Senate.

About an hour after critically injuring Gill, the suspect unsuccessfully attempted to carjack another individual on the other side of town.

A few minutes later, he targeted another victim, this time taking his 2016 Chrysler 200 and shooting him dead. The victim was 35-year-old father-of-two Alberto Vasquez, Jr.

Alberto Vasquez, Jr., (center) was just 35 when he was shot dead by a man on a carjacking spree across Washington, DC Monday night. He was the father to two young daughters (pictured here)

Alberto Vasquez, Jr., (center) was just 35 when he was shot dead by a man on a carjacking spree across Washington, DC Monday night. He was the father to two young daughters (pictured here)

Gill, seen here with his wife and three children in a photo from just two weeks before he was shot

Gill, seen here with his wife and three children in a photo from just two weeks before he was shot

The suspect - Artell Cunningham (pictured) - in the fatal carjackings was shot and killed early Tuesday morning by two officers in New Carrollton, MD after he continued his string of crimes, which included at lest two more carjackings and shooting at a number of police cruisers

The suspect – Artell Cunningham (pictured) – in the fatal carjackings was shot and killed early Tuesday morning by two officers in New Carrollton, MD after he continued his string of crimes, which included at lest two more carjackings and shooting at a number of police cruisers 

Washington, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb recently told a group of concerned DC residents that his office cannot 'prosecute' the city out of the massive crime wave it is currently enduring

Washington, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb recently told a group of concerned DC residents that his office cannot ‘prosecute’ the city out of the massive crime wave it is currently enduring

Jacob Walker, Vasquez's father, said his son had just tuned 35 ten days ago and now, 'His daughters will never get that chance to talk to him again. No weddings, no nothing'

Jacob Walker, Vasquez’s father, said his son had just tuned 35 ten days ago and now, ‘His daughters will never get that chance to talk to him again. No weddings, no nothing’

Vasquez is being remembered by his family, including his mother Antoinette Walker, who told Fox 5 that the number of families impacted by violent carjackings – her own now among them – is ‘not right.’

Jacob Walker, Vasquez’s father, said his son had just tuned 35 ten days ago and now, ‘His daughters will never get that chance to talk to him again. No weddings, no nothing.’ 

The Walkers say the loss is especially painful due to the fact that some 25 years ago, they made the decision to relocate their family from New York to Virginia in part due to safety concerns.

Jacob Walker said he ‘never had expectations that I would be … having to bury my child over something as senseless as a carjacking.’

He went on to lament how ‘normal’ it has seemingly become to ‘take somebody else’s life,’ adding that the constant death undoubtedly takes a toll on the law enforcement officers and reporters who inform families of their lost loved ones and tell their stories.

‘You do the same thing over and over again. It’s not healthy. It can’t possibly be healthy for the human mind to endure tragedy after tragedy. You’re holding a camera and you’re seeing another family and another family. It just becomes names and faces,’ said Walker. 

‘What do we do? Where do we go, you know? He didn’t have to die. He didn’t have to die. He didn’t deserve to die. Not like this.’ 

The suspect in the fatal carjackings was shot and killed early Tuesday morning by two officers in New Carrollton, MD after he continued his string of crimes, which included at lest two more carjackings and shooting at a number of police cruisers.

Jeffery Carroll, the assistant chief of the DC police force, said the man, Artell Cunningham, had a minor criminal history and appeared to be in the midst of a mental health crisis.

Under the leadership of Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser (pictured), and a majority Democrat city council, DC saw nearly 1,000 carjackings in 2023 alone

Under the leadership of Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser (pictured), and a majority Democrat city council, DC saw nearly 1,000 carjackings in 2023 alone

In the several days leading up to Cunningham’s deadly spree, the city of DC experienced some 60 carjackings in the span of just 72 hours, according to Fox 5.

Carjackings, many of which are violent in nature, are a massive problem in the city.

Under the leadership of Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, and a majority Democrat city council, DC saw nearly 1,000 carjackings in 2023 alone. 

That figure is more tan 600 percent higher than the 148 recorded incidents of carjackings in DC in 2018. 

CrimeWashington DC

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