Dear PoP – Warning to Women of Columbia Heights

Photo by PoPville flickr user a.w.miller

“Dear PoP,

Just a warning to women riding the metro and exiting at Columbia Heights. This evening at 10:30pm I was riding up the escalator and in front of me was a 5’5” Hispanic male in his 20’s with no facial hair, a backpack, and a smart phone. In front of him was a woman wearing a short blue dress. Near the top of the escalator, I heard the woman exclaim “what are you doing!?” and we all quickly realized he was taking up-skirt photos of her with his phone.

Inspired by some of the recent stories on PoP of people helping out their neighbors, I chased the man for about half a block down Irving street, screaming “Stop!” (my husband was with me.) The look on his face when he realized I was chasing him was priceless. The photo-creeper was much faster than me and I lost him in the dark, but at least I gave him a really good scare. I then told a police officer I saw standing outside the CVS. So, women exiting at Columbia Heights metro: if you’re wearing a skirt, pay very close attention to who is standing behind you.”

UPDATE from the husband of the victim:

“First off, thank you to the couple that chased after the man. She immediately called 911 to report the incident and gave a similar description: Hispanic man, probably early to mid 20s, around 5’5″, short dark hair, and white t-shirt. When she turned to ask what he was doing, his eyes were bloodshot and he sort of smirked. That was all she saw besides the couple chasing him down Irving towards 13th Street.

The police responded to our house within 10 minutes of getting off the phone with 911 and immediately put out a lookout in the area for someone matching that description. Although we know it’s unlikely anything will come of the report, we definitely appreciate the help of both our neighbors and the police.”