Man Stabbed in Bethesda After Accepting Ride from Two Strangers

He thought he was getting into an Uber or taxi before he was beaten and stabbed

By Joe Zimmermann

Via MCPD

A man was stabbed and beaten in Bethesda on Sunday by two men who had offered him a ride, according to Montgomery County police.

Medics transported the man, 23, to a local hospital where he was treated for nonlife-threatening injuries, police wrote in a news release Wednesday.

The man was walking west on Wilson Lane near downtown Bethesda at about 1 a.m. when two men he didn’t know, who appeared to be in their 20s, stopped their car and offered him a ride, he told police. The man got into their small silver SUV and asked them to take him to a house on the 8300 block of Thoreau Drive, about 2 miles away.

The man told police he believed the car was an Uber or taxi, police spokeswoman Sgt. Rebecca Innocenti said. Detectives have determined the men were not working for a taxi or ridesharing service.

The men drove him to the house and the man got out, according to police. As he was walking toward the house, the two men got out of the car and punched, kicked and stabbed him multiple times before fleeing in the SUV, he told police.

Fire and rescue personnel arrived at the scene at 1:14 a.m.

Police ask residents of Thoreau Drive or the surrounding area to review any home surveillance footage they may have and to contact investigators if they observed a small silver SUV or suspicious activity.

Anyone with information can call detectives at 240-773-6710 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477, which offers a cash reward up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest.