A man died and two girls, ages 13 and 15, face felony murder charges after police say the girls carjacked the man near Nationals Park on Tuesday, used a stun gun against him and caused the car to flip.
Mohammad Anwar, of Springfield, Virginia, was identified as the victim, police and his family said Wednesday. He was 66.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
The suspects are a 13-year-old from Southeast D.C. and a 15-year-old from Fort Washington, Maryland, police said. The juveniles' names were not released.
Documents released Wednesday say the girls were arrested on felony murder and carjacking charges and taken to the Metropolitan Police Department's homicide branch for processing.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
Anwar was a father and grandfather with many loved ones in the U.S. and Pakistan, his family said. He was working as an Uber Eats driver at the time of the crime.
“He was a hardworking immigrant who came to the U.S. in 2014 to build a better life for himself and his family. The loss for his family is immeasurable,” they said in a statement that called the crime "senseless."
Anwar is survived by a wife and two adult children in the U.S., and an adult son and four grandchildren in Pakistan, his family said.
An investigation revealed the girls used a stun gun on the driver, according to an incident report released Wednesday. News4 was first to report on the deadly crash.
Anwar was in a gray sedan about a block north of Nationals Park, in the 1200 block of Van Street SE, when the the girls assaulted him using a stun gun and tried to steal his car, police said. It’s unclear what happened inside the car.
A witness to the carjacking told News4 the victim struggled with the girls.
U.S. & World
Anwar's car then crashed and flipped onto its side on N Street SE. Video footage shows the damaged car balanced on its side.
Police arrived at about 4:30 p.m. and found the victim injured on the sidewalk. Medics took him to a hospital, where he died.
Cellphone video taken by a witness high above N Street shows the immediate aftermath of the crash. Anwar can be seen on the sidewalk. Two National Guard troops who were in the area pulled the two girls out of the flipped car as the car's wheels spun.
The girls were detained on the scene.
D.C. resident Pamela Johnson said she couldn’t believe her eyes.
"I saw all the police cars first. Then I saw the car, and I thought, 'This must be a movie scene or something,’” she said.
Johnson said she often parks in the exact spot where she saw Anwar’s car after it flipped.
Shattered glass remained near the crash site later Wednesday. Paving bricks were scattered, and bike racks had been lifted out of the ground.
Johnson called for justice for the victim.
“I think that people do need to be brought to justice and that they have to stand for what they did and be accountable for their actions, because someone died," she said.
The suspects appeared in juvenile court Wednesday. Their attorneys entered pleas of not involved and requested their release.
Anwar’s family started a fundraising page to help pay for an Islamic funeral.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
