LOCAL CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

Security guard shoots man during armed robbery at Chinatown Walgreens

Police say the man who was wounded has targeted the store in previous robberies

By Peter Hermann
February 12, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. EST



The Friendship Arch on H Street NW in Chinatown. (Jon Bilous/iStock)

A security guard shot and wounded a man who authorities say took a firearm from another guard during a robbery attempt Sunday at a Walgreens pharmacy in D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood, according to D.C. police.

The man who was shot was treated at a hospital for critical injuries, police said in a statement. A police spokesman said authorities expect to charge him in as many as eight previous robberies, many at the same drugstore targeted Sunday. His name was not immediately made public.

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Sunday’s robbery occurred about 6:30 p.m. at the Walgreens at Seventh and H streets NW, across the street from the Metro station and two blocks from the arena. Police said an armed man entered the pharmacy and followed a security guard to a backroom, then took the guard’s firearm.

“At that point the suspect was armed with two firearms,” police said in a statement. Police said a second security guard fired his weapon and wounded the man.

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By Peter Hermann
Peter Hermann covers crime for The Washington Post. He previously worked for the Baltimore Sun for 22 years, covering a Baltimore suburb and then the Baltimore Police Department. Twitter https://twitter.com/phscoop