Democratic Rep. Cuellar Carjacked in Washington, DC

Facts

• The office of US Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) confirmed that the congressman was carjacked Monday by three armed assailants as he was parking his car in Washington, DC’s Navy Yard area.¹
• Police later recovered Cuellar’s vehicle. Cuellar’s iPad and iPhone were also stolen, but it’s not known whether they were found.²
• US Capitol Police, which has taken over the investigation, issued a statement with witness testimony saying the carjackers wore 'knit caps and ski masks' and were allegedly around 16 years old.³
• Numerous members of Congress reportedly live in the building near where this incident took place. It’s known to have a heavy presence of Capitol Police.⁴
• Cuellar is the second Democrat in Congress to be the victim of violent crime this year, following Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) in February being attacked in her apartment building elevator. She fought off her attacker.⁵

Sources: ¹NPR Online News, ²New York Times, ³CBS, ⁴Forbes and ⁵FOX News.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by Townhall. Democrats running DC have let crime run rampant. If it wasn’t for Republicans in Congress — with the help of some sensible Democrats — the DC city council would’ve passed policies that are even softer on crime than what’s in place now. It’s time for DC to get tougher on crime to protect all its citizens, including congresspeople.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by The texas tribune. It is the GOP who has meddled in DC city politics and prevented the city council from passing the reforms it deemed necessary based on experience actually living in the city. As a result, crime is still a major problem. Perhaps Republican Congressional representatives shouldn't get involved and instead should let DC govern with its own approach.