Local Wine Shop Owner Robbed & Shot

It was the middle of the afternoon. So the darkness on that block was not a factor. And one of my neighbors had a gun stuck in his ribs by Chinatown Market at 4 p.m. yesterday. If you watch the alley behind the Chinatown Market and Gospel Rescue Mission, guys are walking in and out of it like it is a convenience store. Stay safe. everyone.

thanks Anon. we don’t put these posts up to fearmonger but rather to remind people that they should be vigilant about living in an urban and still changing area.

we’d like to see fewer of these reports and stamping them out continues to demand civic participation (via the ANCs, the DNA and the MVSNA), persistent police work & patrols and further urban development.

I just called Tunnel Wine to see how the owner was doing and I spoke to both him and his friend. They seem to be doing OK – they are open today (Monday). I think the one thing we can do for them aside from always staying alert about what’s going on in our neighborhood is for us to shop at Tunnel. It’s a really great place store and both owners are very knowledgeable about the products they sell. On top of that, they’re just quality individuals. I hope that everyone has an opportunity to stop by their store, peruse their offerings and talk to the owners just to show your support for a newish local business in our fledgling community.

This is really terrible. Any word on whether the store will re-open?

It would be nice if the PD could increase patrols in the H Street area, especially around the Chinatown Market and the alley behind it as mentioned earlier. Not a day goes by that I don’t see some sort of shady “deal” occuring.

MPD makes me laugh. Their lack of enforcement of any law in DC is remarkable. Anyone who spends any time here realizes that anything short of murder gets zero response from MPD.

On a different note… Tunnel Liquors is a great store. I’m sorry to hear about this and it scares me that it already happened at a new establishment very close to my condo. Definitely support this establishment and hopefully when the new condos right near their open up, things will change.

Gee Loofa 133, MPD makes hundreds of arrests per week. There has been 179 murders this year. Guess they do enforce other laws.

I heard MPD actually caught the perpetrators of this frightening crime. Has anyone else heard the same?

This was a gruesome crime, & as stated above, occurring in the middle of the afternoon makes it even more threatening to everyone here. The area north of H Street is so dangerous there should be warning lights and signs there instead of those silly TV screens showing cell phone ads.
The main problem with most of the MPD officials is they make easy arrests, but rarely make much of an effort to stop or solve serious crime. Some MPD officers do great work, but as with most organizations, 10% of the people do 90% of the work. In our neighborhood, “beat cops” would be a particularly effective policing technique, yet almost all of the cops I see are sitting in their cars with the windows rolled up and talking on their cell phones. Chief Lanier should order two or three cops to walk the beat from 7 am to 11 pm – after that, you’re on your own, just like 24/7 now.

I have not heard anything about these thugs being caught but if they face a DC jury, they’ll get a lenient sentence and be back out on the streets in a couple years.

Why don’t all of us who are in town stop by Tunnel this week and buy some wine or champagne. We need to demonstrate our commitment to keeping good businesses in the neighborhood.

I agree with the previous posters about the lack of police presence. Our bike cops are wonderful but they simply are spread too thin. And I do believe that they should be enforcing the “smaller” offenses like pan handling, public drinking, etc… All of these crimes are related and many of these guys are the customers or perpetrators of the larger crimes.

Stay vigilant and continue to report everything my neighbors.

#2: you make it sound like we should expect these types of recurring events as part of living in an urban environment. Are you joking when you say that you’d “like” to see “fewer” of these reports??? That sounds like the voice of the DC old guard that hopefully will keep getting pushed out as the demographics of this city continue to change.

#12, what do you want to see, more reports of crime?

Your conclusions are silly and off-point.

We would like to thank everyone for your support… The robber was caught within an hour of the incident,thanks to our neighbor Sean from “12 VOLT”, who run after the robber and wrote down the plate number of the gateway vehicle.
After that incident, Tunnel has taken few security measures. The front door will always remain locked, so please be patient until you are buzzed in. We are also installing serveillance cameras throughout the store.
If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to share it with us.
Thank You again for all your supports. Be Safe & Happy New Year !!