DC police charge 11-year-old with armed robbery in series of thefts, amid rash of juvenile crimes

An 11-year-old boy was arrested in connection with an armed robbery in Washington, D.C., as the nation's capital struggles with violence perpetrated by and against juveniles, including pre-teenagers.

Two masked youths tried to rob 45-year-old D.C. resident Ryan Cummins last week, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

"When I shoved him, he weighed nothing," Cummins said. "It's disgusting."

Officials charged the 11-year-old with assault with a dangerous weapon in Cummins' case, robbery in connection with a May 26 incident in which car keys were taken and armed robbery in a May 21 incident involving two young men who used a gun to rob a man of his bicycle.

The 11-year-old is among the youngest in D.C. to be arrested for armed robbery this year as officials are concerned that younger children are at a far higher risk of committing crimes than they once were.

Police said less than a month ago that a 12-year-old was charged in connection to nine carjackings, assaults and robberies. A D.C. Superior Court judge said this week that the child, who is now 13, fled a youth detention center.

More than half of the 43 people arrested for carjacking this year are minors, most of whom are 15 and 16, D.C. police say.

Some minors have been arrested in connection with more serious crimes, such as homicide. 

Police in Prince George's County, Md., and D.C. said this week that officials arrested a 15-year-old who was wanted in an attempted murder of a teenager on a school bus. The 15-year-old is also a suspect in the murder of a D.C. woman. 

Officials said earlier this month that they had arrested a 14-year-old in three armed robberies using a knife, a 16-year-old in two armed robberies using a gun and a 15-year-old in an armed carjacking.

"They don’t care," Cummins said. "No one else’s lives matter to them anymore."

Crime is rising overall in the district, per the police. While data is not available for this year's homicide arrests, in 2022, 12 youths were arrested on murder charges.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.