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LOU CHIBBARO J
Friday, February 01, 2008
An
unidentified
gunman
on
Jan.
18
bound
and
blind-folded
an
employee
at
the
Human
Rights
Campaign’s
Action
Center
and
Store
near
Dupont
Circle
after
hitting
him
repeatedly
in
the
head
with
a
pistol
and
forcing
him
to
turn
over
money
from
a
cash
register
and
safe,
according
to
a
D.C.
police
report.
Sgt.
Tania
Bell,
supervisor
of
the
police
department’s
Gay
&
Lesbian
Liaison
Unit
(GLLU),
which
is
investigating
the
incident,
said
the
crime
appears
to
be
a
random
holdup
and
no
evidence
exists
to
indicate
the
gunman
targeted
the
store
because
it
is
a
gay
business.
“There’s
no
evidence
to
suggest
this
was
a
hate
crime,”
Bell
said.
No
other
employees
or
customers
were
present
at
the
HRC
store
at
1633
Connecticut
Ave.,
N.W.,
at
the
time
the
gunman
entered
about
7
p.m.,
on
Friday,
Jan.
18,
the
police
report
says.
It
says
the
gunman
tied
the
23-year-old
male
employee’s
hands
behind
his
back
with
a
T-shirt
and
tied
another
T-shirt
around
his
eyes
before
fleeing
through
a
rear
door.
The
report
says
the
assailant
ordered
the
employee
to
escort
him
into
a
back
room,
where
the
safe
was
located,
and
struck
him
in
the
head
while
ordering
him
to
open
the
safe.
The
assailant
then
struck
the
employee
“several
more
times
in
the
head
with
the
handgun”
before
tying
the
employee
and
escaping,
the
report
says.
HRC
spokesperson
Trevor
Thomas
said
the
employee
was
treated
and
released
at
a
local
hospital
on
the
day
of
the
incident.
Thomas
said
the
gunman
got
away
with
about
$400
in
cash
from
the
register
and
safe.
Neither
HRC
nor
the
GLLU
publicly
disclosed
the
incident.
An
anonymous
tipster
informed
the
Blade
about
the
assault
and
robbery
on
Monday,
10
days
after
it
occurred.
Thomas
said
HRC
distributed
a
flier
to
nearby
shop
owners
on
Jan.
24,
informing
them
of
the
incident
and
calling
on
them
to
take
safety
precautions.
“If
possible,
always
try
to
work
in
teams
of
two
or
more,”
the
flier
says.
Thomas
said
HRC
decided
to
leave
it
up
to
the
GLLU
to
determine
whether
to
publicly
disclose
the
crime.
“We
sometimes
wait
until
we
have
all
the
information
before
we
announce
something
like
this,”
Bell
said.
“Our
main
concern
was
that
the
victim
was
taken
care
of.
His
welfare
was
of
primary
concern
to
us.”
She
said
no
arrests
have
been
made
in
connection
with
the
case.
The
police
report
says
the
store
employee
described
the
gunman
as
a
black
male
with
a
light
complexion,
appearing
in
his
mid
20s
to
early
30s,
with
acne
scars
on
both
sides
of
his
chin.
The
employee
reported
the
assailant
appeared
to
be
about
5-feet,
4-inches
tall,
weighed
about
135
pounds
and
sported
a
neck
tie
with
black
dress
pants
while
wearing
a
long
“puffy”
coat,
the
police
report
says.
He
wore
a
dark
green
knit
hat,
the
report
says.
Acting
Lt.
Brett
Parson,
the
former
commander
of
the
GLLU
who
now
oversees
all
of
the
department’s
constituent
liaison
units,
said
armed
robberies
are
unusual
in
the
upscale
Connecticut
Avenue
location
where
both
the
HRC
store
and
the
gay
bookstore
Lambda
Rising
are
located.
Lambda
Rising
is
located
two
doors
away
from
the
HRC
store.
HRC,
the
nation’s
largest
gay,
lesbian
and
transgender
rights
organization,
bills
the
store
as
an
action
center
and
retail
outlet
aimed
at
promoting
HRC’s
advocacy
work.
The
store
sells
clothing,
including
T-shirts
and
coats
that
bear
HRC’s
insignia,
along
with
gift
items
such
as
DVDs
and
coffee
mugs.
The
store
distributes
gay
rights-related
literature
and
sells
HRC
memberships.
Anyone
with
information
about
the
incident
should
contact
the
Second
District
Police
Det.
Andy
Way
at
202-715-7358.
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