- Crime has risen substantially in Washington, D.C. in recent years
- READ MORE: Navy Yard residents open up about rising crime in Navy Yard
A staffer for Republican Rep. Mike Collins (Ga.) is the latest victim of crime in the ritzy D.C. Navy Yard neighborhood just blocks from the U.S. Capitol.
Octavian Miller detailed that he and a friend were walking through Navy Yard over the weekend when 'two masked individuals' emerged from a car and were both pointing guns at their torsos.
'One of them asked for my watch, which I wasn't ready to die for,' Miller told Fox News in an interview alongside his boss where he detailed that another friend was able to get in a punch before fleeing.
'This could have ended very differently,' Miller continued. 'Thankfully, these two individuals were not looking for a murder charge.'
Rep. Collins backed-up his staffer and called D.C. a 'warzone.'
Hill staffer Octavian Miller (left) was joined by boss Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) to talk about being robbed at gun point in a neighborhood just a few blocks from the Capitol over the weekend
Just blocks from the U.S. Capitol, many staffers and lawmakers take up residence in pricey, luxury apartment and condo buildings in the Navy Yard neighborhood of D.C., which is also home to the Nationals Baseball stadium and some government buildings like the Department of Transportation.
Not even a year ago and only a few miles from where Miller was held-up, a staffer for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was stabbed multiple times in the head and chest and suffered a brain bleed and punctured lung.
Rep. Henry Cueller (D-Texas) is also among those who have also fallen victim to recent crime after he was carjacked at gunpoint in October by three young men in ski masks – two of whom were wielding firearms. Cueller escaped unharmed.
Despite massive efforts to overhaul Navy Yard, the last few years have seen a massive spike in violent crime like shootings, stabbings, armed robberies and carjackings after Mayor Muriel Bowser implemented much more lax crime laws across the District of Columbia.
'It is very much out of control,' said Collins of the crime. 'And we say a warzone, all you've got to do is ask the people around here and they have polled, constantly, the citizens that live here in DC and no one feels safe.'
He continued: 'We have got to get back to a nation of law and order. We have gotten so far from that. We don't prosecute people and in D.C. we don't even pursue them.'
The same day Miller opened up about the recent crime committed against him, a man was shot and killed just one block away from where the staffer was targeted.
At least three bullet holes were found in the nearby apartment building, shattering windows and bending metal detailing.
Navy Yard neighborhood is located only a half-mile from the U.S. Capitol and is home to many members of Congress and their staffers. Crime has run rampant in Navy Yard with strings of shootings, stabbing, armed carjackings and robberies
'You are concerned, you never think you would be the one in the next story headline,' Miller said when talking about how he was keenly aware of the rising crime before he became a victim himself.
'It is quite unfortunate that we live in a city where it feels like you have to fend for yourself.'
So far in D.C. in 2024 there have been 471 assaults with a dangerous weapon, 885 robberies and 2,150 motor vehicle thefts – and it's only halfway through the year.
'My message to, you know, the leadership in DC is, you know, please take care of your constituents,' Miller said. 'We should… be able to walk around freely, not have to worry about our lives.'
Rep. Collins lamented the crime against his employee on X.
'Our nation's capital has become a warzone because of pro-criminal policies peddled by D.C.'s government,' he wrote.
