Bicyclist robbed on Metropolitan Branch Trail by 2 suspects

Two men mugged a bicycle rider Monday morning on the Metropolitan Branch Trail near R Street in Northeast D.C.

Just before noon on Monday, a 29-year-old woman was pushed off her bike by two men looking for an easy target on the eight-mile trail that stretches from Union Station to Silver Spring in Maryland.

A man witnessed the robbery and captured the suspects on video.

"They asked me if I was calling the feds," he said.

The witness also pulled out his phone and watched as it took the young thieves seconds to rob the victim of $50 and an iPhone.

"They were just walking up and they pushed her and caused her to wobble," the witness told us. "Knocked her off her bike and took her phone and cash out of her wallet."

There has been an uptick in violent crimes in the NoMa neighborhood. For ANC 5D Commissioner Kathy Henderson, this is simply unacceptable.

"At 11:30 [a.m.] in the morning, no reasonable person would think that they wouldn't be safe, and to have that happen to you, that is problematic," she said. "To see the uptick in these brazen crimes during the day, that's a wakeup call for all us."

But for the witness, even less acceptable is the emergency response. He said he called 911 and the dispatcher told him without an address, they could not send help because there are no markers to help direct them to the section of the trail they were at.

The victim and the witness were able to walk out to a cross street on 3rd and R Streets and meet with a D.C. officer. Police searched for the two suspects, but they have not been located.