District police are investigating a series of attacks in Northwest Washington that has left one person dead, two injured and the police chief warning residents not to walk alone.
Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the beating of a 66-year-old Colorado tourist found dead in an alley near Sherman Circle about 6 p.m. Tuesday was followed by two similar attacks in Petworth over the next 26 hours.
“The victims may have been attacked suddenly and without provocation,” Lanier said.
All three victims were walking alone at the time of the assaults. None appeared to have been robbed; each was struck in the head by some sort of blunt object.
The attacks have left residents of this turnaround neighborhood nervous.
“If it’s somebody messing with people for no reason, it’s something to worry about, big-time,” said a man who lives near where the first victim was found and works in the area.
The first attack happened about 6 p.m. Tuesday. The body of the first victim, Gary Dederichs, of Denver, was found leaning against a garage door in an alley on the 800 block of Emerson Street NW, a fanny pack on the ground by his head.
Nine hours later, about 3 a.m. Wednesday, a 53-year-old man was found unconscious in the road on the 4800 block of Georgia Avenue NW.
Police initially thought the man had been struck by a car but soon determined he was hit on the head with a blunt object. He remain hospitalized Thursday in critical condition.
About 8:40 p.m. Wednesday, approximately 27 hours after the first incident, a 37-year-old woman was attacked on the 5600 block of Ninth Street NW. She suffered serious head trauma and remains hospitalized.
Lanier was not sure what kind of weapon was used in the attacks.
“We don’t know what we have,” Lanier said.
Police have no information that connects the victims to each other. Dederichs was white, the other two victims are black. Lanier would not say where the victims were coming from because the investigation was ongoing.
Dederichs, a registered nurse, was a tourist who rented a room in the Petworth area for two weeks, police said.
Because the victims were all alone at the time of their attacks, Lanier is asking residents to travel in pairs.
Examiner Staff Writer Alan Blinder contributed to this report.
