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Two Texans Attacked at National Mall
Reported by Scott Lawrence
July 12, 2006 - 9:56AM
WASHINGTON (AP) _ U.S. Park Police are investigating two armed robberies of tourists on the National Mall and are looking for connections to a string of similar incidents in late May, police said.

Two women visiting from Texas were robbed at gunpoint around 10 p.m. Tuesday by two men dressed in black, said U.S. Park Police Sgt. Scott Fear. About 15 minutes later a family of four from Missouri was robbed by suspects with the same description, he said.

Though no one was injured, Fear said there were similarities to three violent attacks on the National Mall in May.

Details were not immediately released on hometowns of the victims from Texas.

So far no arrests.

"We try to prevent this from happening," Fear said. "We're going to reallocate our resources. We're going to see what improvements we can make."

The latest attacks came just hours after D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey declared a crime emergency in the city.

A high-profile killing of a British activist Sunday in the affluent Georgetown neighborhood was one of 13 homicides this month.

Robberies are up 14 percent, and armed assaults have jumped 18 percent in the past 30 days.

The tourist-friendly National Mall is usually considered safe, despite spikes in city crime. But the recent crimes against tourists have raised doubts and calls for a larger police presence.



(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)