Photo by Maitreyi Bordia Das “Touching down to sunrise on #WashingtonDC”
Also awesome from Nanuka:
“Please help me thank a man who saw me finding shelter from pouring rain under a storefront in a long silk dress tonight & said: You look like you need an umbrella, then handed me his and continued his way without asking anything else. You are a hero!”
You do what you gotta do. Thanks to Courtney S. Veatch for sending from Capitol Hill.
“Dear PoPville,
At the beginning of the video you can see the two young men (long-haired individual may be a woman, hard to tell) sneak up to the yard and then take all of the mail from the mailbox. Read More
Thanks to Devin for sending over the weekend:
“Sidewalk Repair Vigilante spotted last night at the corner of 6th and I NW. He was collecting tips from passersby. Should mention this was at around 11:30 pm”
Emily also spotted him working there Saturday morning: Read More
Photo by Jess Pezley
Thanks to Jess for sending the “Vigilante sidewalk repair” update:
“Update to the Update: He’s back at it this morning! It appears that a city official ordered him to leave, so Kurt (his name is Kurt) is sweeping up the mess & packing up his stuff.”
WJLA reported last night:
“Madsen says, “Why am I here? Because this is unsafe.” Read More
“Dear PoPville,
Tuesday at the bus stop at H & 6th NW.
FBI, GAO, and “wet floor” cones.
Wednesday:
Working in the street with a single cone for protection from traffic.
A police officer came and explained that it’s city property, not safe, etc. and he left/was removed.
Thursday (today): Read More
Matthew Shannon-Browne
Yesterday we learned that “an individual involved in two First Degree Sexual Abuse and three Burglary One offenses” in Mount Pleasant had been arrested thanks to “A witness heard the victim’s scream and saw the suspect fleeing from the residence. The witness followed the suspect.”
That witness is Matthew Shannon-Browne. And make no mistake, the assailant would not have been caught without his selfless quick actions. I happen to know Matthew and had the opportunity to speak with him today. I learned that he chased the suspect for blocks and blocks through alleys over fences into the woods and back out again for at least 10 minutes before police arrived. The assailant told him he had a gun, threw a brick at him and despite all that Mathew never stopped his pursuit. He heard the screams from his home and made that split second decision to help. “My mother or daughter could be next if he gets away.”
Props certainly go out to the other civilians who helped, and ultimately the police who made the arrest, but without Mathew’s initial bravery this likely would have ended very differently. It’s a miracle no civilians got hurt during this chase. As a result of a few people’s actions so many can now breathe a sigh of relief. The sequence of events that went down before this guy was caught are simply extraordinary. So, I’m saying it anyway, Matthew Shannon-Browne is a straight up hero and Mount Pleasant and the District of Columbia are lucky to call him a neighbor and resident.
If you see him, buy him a beer. From now until forever. Also please read every word of his statement below. His actions were, again, extraordinary but I’d like to emphasize his last sentence: “I hope we can all take time to smile at one another, help one another and be there when others are in need.”
Statement from Matthew Shannon-Browne:
“I’m not a hero, I’m a neighbor. If we all allow ourselves to see our neighbors as our family, our sisters, our brothers, our mothers and our fathers we don’t need to protect ourselves with guns or the unnecessary use of deadly force.
The District is my home. I was raised in Mt. Pleasant and see it as an extension of my family. I live beside four households that were attacked by this man. People have been traumatized by his actions, and when I heard my neighbors scream for help and saw him fleeing their house, I instinctually knew I couldn’t allow him to get away. I instinctually knew that if I took my eyes off him he would return to hurt someone else. Maybe next time it would be my daughter, maybe my mother. I knew it wasn’t “The safe thing to do” but I knew deep down in my gut that I needed to help the police stop him. As I confronted the assailant in the alley I called 911 and began to chase him so that the police knew where exactly they could find him. Read More
Thanks to Stephanie Coleman for sharing this instant classic from Rhode Island Ave, NE yesterday. Following on the heels of our hero riding on top of a couple cases of beer comes this legend. I get it. Sometimes you’ve had a long day but still gotta scoot home. Respect!! Now, keep in mind these folks are professionals, please don’t try this at home.
hahaha thanks to Brett for sending from P Street. Read More
Thanks to Danny for sending. And the video is even better:
@PoPville do you have any insights about this wonderful holiday herald I saw on New Hampshire? pic.twitter.com/mFbPk9W01P
— Danny Michaelis (@easilyBaffled) December 21, 2018
Should you spot a quiet act of heroism biking or not please send an email with a brief description and the neighborhood where it was witnessed to [email protected].
