Last night, while riding home, I was involved in an incident that I wasn't sure how to interpret, but I then found out that at nearly the same time, at almost the exact same location, one of my neighbors was stabbed.
I was riding across the Sousa Bridge on my way home from work, and as the bridge ended, and the trail around Barney Circle began I saw a man walking towards me along the trail. He was on the "westbound" side, like me, and did not seem to see me as he didn't move over to the "eastbound" half of the trail, but he was wearing sunglasses and was hunched over so I figured he just hadn't noticed me yet. I slowed down and was about to ring my bell (I don't like to pass someone who I don't think sees me, and I don't like to cross over to the opposite side either) when he stepped to his right, across where the center line would be - if the trail there had one; so I figured he'd seen me and I pedaled on, moving to the far right of the trail.
As I passed him (with plenty of space), he moved toward me and I felt him put his hands on me - one on my left shoulder and one on my back - and push me. Luckily I stayed upright, but I had to stop a few feet farther on to get my balance. I wasn't sure what had happened. Was that on purpose, or had he not seen me as I thought, and I startled him. When I looked back he was walking towards me very quickly saying "my fault. my fault." But the speed at which he was walking, and the stories I'd heard of others being pushed off their bikes and robbed, made me nervous. Without thinking I shouted "F--- you, back off!" At this point he got angry "No, F--- you, F-- you" he said and started running toward me as I rode away at full speed. As I crossed the intersection of Barney Circle and 17th, I looked back and saw him still running full speed toward me, Terminator-style, so I rode on up Kentucky Avenue. About half a block up, I stopped pulled out my phone and dialed 9-1, and figured if I saw him turn the corner, I'd dial the last 1. I didn't and so, unsure if this had all been a misunderstanding (I'd startled him, and then I cursed at him) or if this was a robbery/assault and not sure the police could get there in time to him - or if they could even do anything if they did, I put my phone away and continued on to pick up my kids at daycare.
I regret that now. Because at around the same time, two blocks from the intersection I had just left, a woman was touched in almost an identical fashion, except in her case, the assailant had a knife.
The victim, 33, who did not want her name published, said she halted at a stop sign after crossing the John Philip Sousa Bridge. She had started pedaling again when she saw a man, who seemed unsteady on his feet, walking toward her. She was crossing the street at the intersection of 17th and G streets SE, about two blocks from her home.
She said that she tried to steer so that she would avoid the man, but he grabbed her arm and hit her in the shoulder.
She managed to stay on the bike and pedaled away. After several blocks, she looked over her shoulder to see if the man was following her. She saw that she was bleeding.
She stopped at a residence where a person was in the front yard and told him, “I just was stabbed! Can you help me?” She called 911 and was taken to a hospital, where she received stitches to close the knife wound, she said.
Police are looking for a black man between the ages of 30 and 40 and about 5 foot 11. He was wearing a black shirt and black jeans at the time of the stabbing at about 5 p.m. Tuesday, police said.
Based on Strava, my incident happened almost exactly at 5pm, which means I'm not sure if it happened before or after hers.
I did call the police later that evening to report the incident - in case it was part of a pattern (little did I know). A police officer showed up and seemed pretty disinterested (he was very concerned that we had a package on our front porch though), and didn't take a report and basically made me feel like I'd wasted both our time, but after the stabbing I was able to contact the investigating officer in that case.
I guess my lesson here is that when I feel uncomfortable enough to run, I should call 911.
Wow, glad you are OK. I'd bring this up next time we hear the media asesrt that cyclists are too quick to complain about nothing
Posted by: SJE | July 22, 2015 at 09:40 PM
Glad your ok Dave! I've been debating whether to carry mace.
Posted by: Brett Young | July 22, 2015 at 10:26 PM
So, do we ride on the road and risk being injured by a distracted driver, or ride on the trail and risk being injured by a criminal?
Hope your neighbor fully recovers.
Check local laws before using mace or pepper spray.
Posted by: Kolo Jezdec | July 23, 2015 at 07:27 AM
Sorry this happened to you. It is very disturbing.
I carried pepper spray for a few years after being run off the road by car and then attacked with fists by a group of teens of out in Wheaton. It made me feel a little better, but I was worried about incapacitating myself with it or otherwise narrowing my options by relying on it.
The recent reports of bizarrely aggressive behavior, connected with "synthetic drugs" raises the possibility that this man was on, something and that incapacitating agents might not have worked. Dear old ethanol or ketamine can do that too.
Posted by: Smedley Burkhart | July 23, 2015 at 08:28 AM
I've had a couple of odd run-ins lately that I had assumed were crack-related until I read the WP article on synthetic drugs. Another thing to be on your guard for besides the regular right hooks, left hooks, illegal U-turns, and doors. I don't want to carry a weapon, generally thinking they make it too easy to escalate things better left un-escalated, but I understand the temptation.
Posted by: DE | July 23, 2015 at 08:54 AM
Mace wouldn't work for me. In order to be some place useful, it'd have to be accessible; which means that the three small pickpockets I live with would eventually grab it and mace me, or themselves or one of their brothers. Or all three.
Posted by: washcycle | July 23, 2015 at 09:38 AM
Then that would be a "learning experience"
Posted by: SJE | July 23, 2015 at 11:39 AM
You have plenty of dangerous things in your house now that you keep away from the kids. You can find a way to keep the mace safe when it's in the house.
Posted by: opinion | July 29, 2015 at 09:49 AM
Well, the kids aren't just with me in the house. I would need the mace to be someplace accesible on my bike (or else, what is the point?), but away from the kids who are often riding with me.
And the kids are constantly getting into things they shouldn't despite our efforts to prevent that. So, a better strategy is just to limit bad items. I have yet to have heard of a cyclist thwarting an attack with mace.
Posted by: washcycle | July 29, 2015 at 10:15 AM