Mugging/Beating on T Street and a "Be on the Lookout For"

I'm unsure of how public the details of the message I received about the following incident are, so I'm redacting it a bit in hopes of protecting the identity of the victim:

Unfortunately we had another incident in our neighborhood involving crime. [Victim] . . . was walking . . . on the 900 block of T St at 11:15 on Tuesday night . . . . Two young (20-something) African American males started following him around the intersection of 12th and T. He didn't realize he was actually being followed until he reached 10th and T. The two men rushed [Victim] and one started to choke him by the neck and push his head down so that [Victim] couldn't see who they were. . . . They pushed something into [Victim]'s back and told him it was a gun and demanded his cash. They took his wallet with credit cards and unfortunately, a decent amount of cash. They also took his green/brown leather handbag which contained a laptop computer, payroll checks . . . and a few other financial papers. They beat [Victim] roughly 8-10 times on the neck, face, and head and left him on the ground full of blood. Fortunately, some neighbors (angels!) heard [Victim] yell as he was being beaten and they called 911. The police, fire dept. and ambulance arrived a few minutes later. He was taken to GW University Hospital for xrays and scans and some stitches on the top of his head. He is now home recovering.

I hope all of our neighbors are extra cautious and watch their surroundings. It seems we've had an upswing of crime in our neighborhood, one after another.

The report of the incident concludes by describing some of the items stolen. IF YOU SEE ANY OF THESE ITEMS, DO NOT TOUCH THEM BUT CALL THE POLICE ASAP. Wait with the items until the police arrive.

+ Checks or mail from Rice Restaurant or Simply Home,
+ A laptop computer
+ An expensive (not a big label brand) green handbag that can be worn over your shoulder.

Again, DO NOT TOUCH ANY OF THE OBJECTS!! Call the police and wait with them; the investigators need to photograph and dust for prints as they are working hard to catch these two thugs.

This incident also highlights how we, as neighbors, need to listen out for others in distress. Who knows what might have happened if those neighbors hadn't come to the victim's aid.