The Metropolitan Police Department announces the arrest of a man who assaulted another in Northwest.
On Saturday, October 12, 2024, at approximately 6:38 p.m., the victim was purchasing items from a store in the 1700 block of 17th Street, Northwest, when the suspect approached the victim and asked the victim to buy an item for him. The victim refused. The suspect spat on and assaulted the victim. During the assault, the suspect made derogatory comments towards the victim based on his ethnicity. The suspect was arrested by responding officers.
49-year-old Warren Welcome of Southeast, DC was arrested and charged with Simple Assault (Hate Bias)
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating this offense as potentially being motivated by hate or bias. The designation can be changed at any point as an investigation proceeds and more information is gathered. A designation as a hate crime by MPD does not mean that prosecutors will prosecute it as a hate crime. The Special Liaison Branch is assisting with this investigation.