The first victim recalled that she had just moved to the District last spring and was walking home from Children’s National Hospital, where she works, when she saw a group of girls. She said the teenagers rushed up to her, pushed her to the ground, stole her purse and ripped off her jacket.
Washington, D.C
Teen girl arrested in D.C. after carjacking is sentenced for robberies
A second woman, who was robbed around the same time, said she has post-traumatic stress disorder after a group of teen girls knocked her to the ground and stole her purse. She now carries pepper spray and an electronic stun device.
“I saw a group of girls,” she said in D.C. Superior Court. “I never thought I should have to be concerned about a group of girls.”
The women spoke at a sentencing hearing Thursday for a 15-year-old who received a three-year term in juvenile detention after pleading guilty to five robberies, car theft and assault. The girl was arrested in October in connection with a carjacking that resulted in the car-crash death of another teen girl.
Another woman, also a robbery victim, told a judge that she had surgery on her jaw as a result of being assaulted. She said her purse was stolen, and she later moved to another part of D.C. to avoid having panic attacks while walking or driving through the neighborhood where she was attacked. A fourth woman, a New York resident, testified that she was attending a work conference in D.C. and was leaving a training session when a group of girls knocked her to the ground and stole her purse.
“I am from New York and I always thought I was pretty guarded and cautious before,” she told Judge Andrea L. Hertzfeld, who ordered the 15-year-old to be held by the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services until her 18th birthday.
Police said the girls were part of a group that carried out several robberies in 2023 that culminated with the car crash that resulted in the death of Kendra Outlaw, 16. Authorities say Outlaw was driving a carjacked Honda Pilot at a high speed when it struck a utility pole at Brentwood Road and Bryant Street NE shortly before 2 a.m. on Oct. 26. The girl who was sentenced Thursday had been a passenger in a carjacked Toyota Camry that was speeding with the Honda.
The Washington Post, which generally does not identify people charged with crimes as juveniles, was allowed to watch the sentencing on the condition that the name of the teen not be disclosed.
Prosecutors said that before the deadly carjacking, the 15-year-old girl was also involved in five street robberies in April and September in which female victims were assaulted by a group of girls who stole purses and other items. She pleaded guilty in those cases. Prosecutors from the D.C. attorney general’s office allowed the teen to plead guilty to a lesser offense of unauthorized use of a vehicle in connection with the Oct. 26 carjacking.
The deadly crash and subsequent arrest became the focus of a rift among D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), judges in Superior Court and youth officials in the city. After the incident, Bowser criticized judges and youth officials, erroneously saying publicly that the teen had six or seven previous arrests for carjacking so she should have been in secure detention and not allowed to return home. That description of the girl’s background was untrue.
At the hearing, the soft-spoken teen read a letter of apology to the victims, her parents and Judge Hertzfeld, who had been a focus of the mayor’s ire.
“I am sorry for what I did to you all. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me,” the girl said. “I was influenced by people I was hanging with.”
The teen later told the judge she wants to attend college and eventually law school and become a defense attorney.
Her lawyer Khadijah Ali said the girl was “influenced” by older teens. She asked the judge to place her client on probation so she could obtain psychological and emotional counseling from various agencies that the teen’s parents had identified.
Ali also said her client was still grieving Outlaw’s death.
“She blames herself for what happened, even though they were in different vehicles. She feels that what happened was her fault,” Ali said. “She’s a sweet girl who was influenced by others and followed other people, which is what many teenagers do.”
Prosecutors argued that the teen should be incarcerated while also undergoing counseling.
“They chose harm over community,” prosecutor Julia Rupert said. “This array of assaultive conduct on residents and victims is concerning.”
Hertzfeld advised the teen that if Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services officials determine that she has been rehabilitated before her 18th birthday, the agency could order her released.
“This case is a tragedy all around,” Hertzfeld said before ordering the teen held in secure detention and to undergo psychological and emotional counseling. “There is a lot of work that has to be done. But nobody is only the mistake they made. … I have faith in you.”
Washington, D.C
Nonprofit sues the federal government over plans to paint Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue
With a blue sky above the Lincoln Memorial, people walk along the reflection pool in Washington, D.C., on June 9, 2023.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
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Jose Luis Magana/AP
A nonprofit is suing the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the decision to resurface the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool at Washington D.C.’s National Mall, and to paint the pool’s basin blue.
The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), an education and advocacy organization. In the suit, TCLF is asking a federal judge to halt the project, saying that the Trump administration failed to have the project reviewed federally, as is dictated by the National Historic Preservation Act.
President Trump revealed his plans for the pool do-over last month in “American flag blue,” saying that the project would take one week and $2 million, and that it would be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. A few days later on Truth Social, the president posted a fake image of himself and several of his administration officials in swimsuits, along with an unidentified woman in a gingham bikini, lounging in the water with the Washington National Monument at the rear. (Swimming in the reflecting pool is prohibited by federal law.)
In a YouTube video posted by the White House on April 23, Trump called the pool “filthy dirty” and said it “leaked like a sieve.” In that video, Trump said he was going to call three companies that he has worked with in the past – “all they do is swimming pools” – and say, “Give me a good price.”
The New York Times reported last Friday that the contract for the reflecting pool’s resurfacing was awarded in a $6.9 million no-bid contract to a company called Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which previously has never held any federal contracts.
An employee at the Atlantic Industrial Coatings confirmed in a telephone call on Monday that it has been contracted for this project, but referred all other questions to the Department of the Interior.
The Times reported on Monday that the final cost of the project could be upward of $13 million, per documents it says it has obtained. The Department of the Interior did not confirm the cost of the project, but wrote: “The contract price reflects the effort necessary to expedite the timeline of completing the leak prevention coating project—more people, more materials, more equipment and longer hours ahead of our 250th.”
In an unsigned statement emailed to NPR Monday afternoon, the Interior Department wrote: “The National Park Service chose the best company to expedite the repair of the iconic Reflecting Pool ahead of our 250 celebrations. The choice of American Flag Blue will enhance the visitor experience by making the pool reflect the grand Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. NPS is also investing in a state-of-the-art ozone nanobubbler filtration system and will now have a dedicated crew who will maintain the grounds’ from wildlife. The Department is proud of the work being carried out by our Park Service to ensure this magical spot can be enjoyed for not only our 250th, but for many generations to come.”
Critics of the project, including TCLF, don’t share that vision – and are taking particular umbrage at the color.
“The reflecting pool should not be viewed in isolation; it is part of the larger ensemble of designed landscapes that comprise the National Mall,” Charles A. Birnbaum, the president and CEO of TCLF, said in a statement emailed to NPR Monday. “The design intent, to create a reflective surface that is subordinate, is fundamental to the solemn and hallowed visual and spatial connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. A blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park.”
The National Park Service regularly cleans out algae, goose droppings and other detritus from the reflecting pool. The last major renovation of the reflecting pool, which included the installation of a new circulation and filtration system, took place during the Obama administration at a reported cost of $34 million.
Before founding TCLF in 2008, Birnbaum served for 15 years as the coordinator of the Historic Landscape Initiative for the National Park Service.
TCLF has another open lawsuit against the federal administration: it is one of eight cultural and architecture groups currently suing President Trump and the Kennedy Center board over the planned renovations of the complex, which are planned to start in July.
The memorial service will be held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at 1 p.m.
WASHINGTON D.C. – A brave K-9 hero from the region will be honored at the Annual National Police K9 Memorial Service on Monday afternoon.
K-9 Knox died in the line of duty last year after he was accidentally hit by a police vehicle while pursuing a suspect involved in a stolen vehicle incident. He was a 3-year-old German shepherd and had served as a narcotics detection and patrol apprehension K-9 for the Roanoke Police Department since May 2023.
The memorial service will include a wreath-laying ceremony and will be held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., at 1 p.m. The event will open with a musical performance by Frank Ray, and the guest speaker will be Deputy Jared Hahn of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.
The San Antonio Police Department Blue Line Choir will sing the national anthem, and the Emerald Society Pipes & Drums band will also perform.
Copyright 2026 by WSLS 10 – All rights reserved.
4 things to know about the weather:
- Shower chance Monday morning
- Cooler Monday
- Midweek rain chance
- Warmer end to the week
Showers continue to move west with a cold front tonight. There will be a break in the rain overnight, but showers return for the start of the day on Monday. Monday afternoon will be dry, but noticeably cooler.
Sunshine returns Tuesday, but the break in the rain will be short-lived with rain chances on Wednesday
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
QuickCast
TONIGHT:
Showers early
Mostly cloudy
Wind: N 5-10 mph
LOW: Low 50s
MONDAY:
Morning shower chance
Wind: N 5-10 mph
HIGH: Upper 60s
TUESDAY:
Sunny
Wind: N 5-10 mph
HIGH: Near 70°
WEDNESDAY:
Shower chance
Wind: S 5-10 mph
Gusts at 20 mph
HIGH: Low 70s
SUNRISE: 5:59 a.m. SUNSET: 8:10 p.m.
AVERAGE HIGH: 75° AVERAGE LOW: 56°
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
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