Armed suspects robbed diners at D.C.’s Restaurant Philippe on Tuesday night in the swanky Wharf neighborhood, according to a local report.
Last night, a robbery occurred in Washington, D.C. outside Restaurant Philippe at the Wharf. This marks the 26th robbery in the past three months.
via @NitaB_rich pic.twitter.com/4jE0DGqbGM
— Noelia Belén Izarza 🇻🇪🇺🇸 (@myteks) October 18, 2023
Video shows the patrons milling about on the sidewalk when four armed assailants in face masks jumped out of a black sedan and began pointing their weapons at the pedestrians.
One patron cowers on the sidewalk and dumps her belongings out in front of her as one of the suspects collects her purse and phone. The robbers appear to grab the belongings and then drive away. (RELATED: Washington Couple Fights Off Armed Intruder)
This has been the 26th robbery in the neighborhood in the past three months, according to Izarza.
The Wharf neighborhood, like the nearby Navy Yard, has undergone rapid development in recent years. Previously considered to be a mixed-income neighborhood, the Wharf has been injected with piles of development money, most recently a $3.6 billion investment by New Urbanist/Smart Growth, according to the American Conservative.
Still, all that money doesn’t change things overnight, as some social media users were quick to point out.
“The whole wharf?! They plopped a high end commerce area a few blocks from the hood. All they have to do is pull up anywhere. There is no criminal mastermind involved,” one Twitter user said in response to the video.