Henry Cuellar carjacking: Texas representative does not think he was targeted for being a member of Congress
October 03, 2023 12:13 PM
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) spoke publicly about his carjacking on Tuesday after three men held him at gunpoint and stole his car late Monday night.
Cuellar told reporters in his first comments since the incident that the men were young and he had to “analyze the situation quickly.”
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“I do have a black belt, but I recognize when you got three guns — I looked at one with a gun, another with a gun, and one behind me, so … They said they wanted my car, I said, ‘Sure,’” Cuellar said.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the carjacking occurred at about 9:23 p.m. in the Navy Yard neighborhood outside of Cuellar’s apartment building at the intersection of New Jersey and K Street. Several members, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), live in the building, as well, Cuellar said.
Cuellar said that he did not believe the young men targeted him because he was a congressman. Police described the suspects as “three black males wearing all black clothing” and advised people to call 911 instead of approaching them directly. As of Tuesday morning, they have not been apprehended.
The Texas representative was not harmed during the incident and said he is feeling “good.” In less than two hours, he said, police were able to recover the vehicle and “everything” in the car, including his phone and his cards.
“What really got me upset was they took my sushi,” Cuellar said of the carjacking.
Carjackings have been on the rise in Washington, D.C., surging 250% in the last five years. In 2022, the number of carjacking incidents reached 485, per D.C. data. `
This year, there have been more than double the number of carjackings compared to last year, with D.C. police reporting 753 as of Tuesday. In D.C., 75% of carjackings in the city involved guns.
When asked if he had a message from the incident, the Texas representative said, “You got to support law enforcement, and I’ve been doing that for a long time.”
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The carjacking is the latest criminal incident involving a lawmaker in the district. In February, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was physically assaulted inside an elevator as she was leaving her apartment building in the nation’s capital.
A member of Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) staff was hospitalized in late March with a deep knife wound to the head after he was attacked and stabbed in broad daylight. Glynn Neal, the man arrested for the attack, was allegedly released from prison just one day prior to the stabbing