“Dear PoPville,

Last Tuesday I was walking north on 10th Street from the U Street Metro (the only entrance open at this point) and passed a group of teens that had just thrown a cup of soda at a car parked in the street with its flashers on (assuming they were waiting for somebody to come out of the temporary Duke Ellington School location.) After I passed them, I heard whispers, muttering, feet movement, and 6-8 of them proceded to punch me in the face.

I swung my umbrella at them and they scattered. I called the police and the officer who handled my case said that they had been chasing them out of allies and different neighborhoods all afternoon (my incident happened at 7:05pm.) He also said that an hour before they did this to me, they did it to a woman on U Street.

Today, talking with a neighbor on my street (10th Street), he said that a group of 6-8 teens did the same thing this past weekend to somebody on our street again. Speaking with another neighbor – she said she helped fend off a similar attack the other week.

The police advice: walk on the other side of the street.

Just wanted to see if you heard of anything and if there’s anything bigger than these incidents.”