A prominent young Washington rabbi says he was in a cab home from morning prayers Sunday when he was kicked out of the car and violently attacked by the driver.
Washington, D.C
D.C. rabbi attacked by Lyft driver who didn’t like his ‘energy’
Shemtov said the Lyft driver demanded he leave the car. Videos of the incident, taken by both Shemtov and witnesses, show the driver punching and hitting the rabbi with a set of keys. The attacker fled the scene, according to a police report, which described his vehicle as a red Toyota sedan bearing the Maryland license plate 3FR1602.
The car was the one Shemtov ordered, but he said he believes the man who assaulted him was not the person who was supposed to pick him up. After the incident, he looked at the Lyft app again and saw that the driver who agreed to take him home looked significantly older than his attacker.
Shemtov said he called the Lyft from a Chabad center in Adams Morgan to his home in Georgetown about 10:15 a.m. He asked whether the music in the car could be a little less loud, and the driver turned it off.
“He made a passive-aggressive comment about how I should book a quiet car next time,” Shemtov said. “Then 20 seconds later, he said, ‘Get out of my car.’” When Shemtov asked why, he said the driver replied, “I don’t like your energy, your energy is kind of offending me.”
After Shemtov got out, video shows the driver following him on foot and yelling at him for slamming the car door. He then punched Shemtov in the face. When the rabbi moved to take pictures of the car, the driver followed him and slapped him repeatedly with his keys, leaving cuts across Shemtov’s face.
“I didn’t engage back with him; I didn’t fight,” Shemtov said. “This is the most aggressive thing to happen to me.”
Lyft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shemtov’s family has played a major role in Washington Jewish life for three generations. His grandfather organized the first lighting of a National Menorah on the Ellipse in 1979. His father convinced the House of Representatives to stop holding votes during the High Holidays in 1998, and former president Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law attended his home shul. Shemtov leads prayers at the Pentagon.
They are part of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which stands apart from other deeply observant sects in its outreach to more secular Jews. Shemtov said he didn’t know whether the “energy” the driver referred to included his religious garb; a police report said the incident was not being investigated as a hate crime.
“I don’t know what other energy he could be referring to,” Shemtov said. “I don’t know what to attribute to me other than who I am.”
FULL PRESS CONFERENCE | King Charles III spoke in Washington D.C. on April 28, 2026 during his four-day trip in the U.S. The King spoke about his continued partnership with the U.S. and paid his respects toward the victims of September 11, prior to the 25th anniversary.
WASHINGTON (7News) — An individual is hospitalized after fleeing a traffic stop and being struck by a civilian vehicle on DC-295 in Northeast D.C. Monday night, according to the United States Park Police (USPP).
Officials said the incident began around 11:18 p.m. when officers attempted to stop a driver for reckless driving.
USPP said the driver fled, later losing control of the vehicle before crashing into a curb and a tree, disabling the car.
(Credit: Kyle Mazza/@KyleMazzaWUNF)
The suspect then bailed out near Kenilworth Park and ran onto DC-295.
SEE ALSO | Man killed in early morning Northwest DC shooting
While on the roadway, officials said the individual was struck by a civilian vehicle.
(Credit: Kyle Mazza/@KyleMazzaWUNF)
The civilian driver was not injured.
The suspect was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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The investigation remains ongoing.
BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A Washington D.C. man was sentenced to life in prison Monday for the 2024 deadly shooting of a Baltimore man during an attempted robbery in Harbor East, according to the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office.
Defendant Quontay Spinks was given a life sentence for First-Degree Murder, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence, First-Degree Assault, Attempted Robbery with a Deadly Weapon, and First-Degree Attempted Murder.
“I thank the court for handing down the maximum sentence under the plea agreement parameters for a Defendant who terrorized our residents, visitors, and ultimately took the life of Mr. Antonio Peoples,” State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates said in a press release. “While nothing can undo this loss, I hope this sentence brings the family a sense of justice and closure. I thank the Baltimore Police Department’s Homicide Detectives and ASA Gallo for ensuring accountability after so much violence and tragedy.
ALSO READ | Court documents reveal new details about accused DC teen’s crime spree across Baltimore
The shooting occurred on September 14, 2024, in the 700 block of Aliceanna Street, outside The Ruxton restaurant in Harbor East.
Investigators reported that the victim, 36-year-old Antonio Peoples, and his girlfriend were standing outside the restaurant when a dark-colored vehicle, later identified as a Toyota Camry, pulled up beside them.
Surveillance video reviewed by homicide detectives revealed several suspects exiting the vehicle and approaching the couple with their firearms drawn.
The suspects attempted to rob them of their necklaces and when Peoples resisted, gunfire erupted.
According to investigators, Peoples managed to disarm one of the suspects and returned fire while wounded on the ground.
Peoples was struck multiple times and rushed to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he later died. His girlfriend was grazed by a bullet and received treatment for her injuries.
Crime scene technicians recovered dozens of shell casings from various firearms, including 7.62mm cartridge casings, .40 caliber casings, and 9mm casings, along with fired projectiles and other evidence.
ALSO READ | 19-year-old denied bond for Harbor East murder, criminal past revealed
Detectives utilized surveillance footage from before and after the shooting, along with ballistic and forensic evidence, to identify Spinks as a suspect.
Authorities also obtained digital and cellphone data that placed Spinks near the scene at the time of the shooting and indicated that he left the area afterward.
Spinks was located in Washington, D.C., on November 1, 2024, and taken into custody.
After being advised of his rights, investigators said Spinks confessed to attempting to rob Peoples of his necklace and to shooting him.
Spinks also admitted to involvement in several other violent incidents in Baltimore between September 12 and October 4, 2024.
Now, Spinks will spend the rest of his life in prison.
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