Feb 01, 2008  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO J  | COMMENTS     

An unidentified gunman on Jan. 18 bound and blind-folded an employee at the Human Rights Campaign’s Action Center and Store near Dupont Circle after hitting him repeatedly in the head with a pistol and forcing him to turn over money from a cash register and safe, according to a D.C. police report.

Sgt. Tania Bell, supervisor of the police department’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU), which is investigating the incident, said the crime appears to be a random holdup and no evidence exists to indicate the gunman targeted the store because it is a gay business.

“There’s no evidence to suggest this was a hate crime,” Bell said.

No other employees or customers were present at the HRC store at 1633 Connecticut Ave., N.W., at the time the gunman entered about 7 p.m., on Friday, Jan. 18, the police report says. It says the gunman tied the 23-year-old male employee’s hands behind his back with a T-shirt and tied another T-shirt around his eyes before fleeing through a rear door.

The report says the assailant ordered the employee to escort him into a back room, where the safe was located, and struck him in the head while ordering him to open the safe. The assailant then struck the employee “several more times in the head with the handgun” before tying the employee and escaping, the report says.

HRC spokesperson Trevor Thomas said the employee was treated and released at a local hospital on the day of the incident. Thomas said the gunman got away with about $400 in cash from the register and safe.

Neither HRC nor the GLLU publicly disclosed the incident. An anonymous tipster informed the Blade about the assault and robbery on Monday, 10 days after it occurred.

Thomas said HRC distributed a flier to nearby shop owners on Jan. 24, informing them of the incident and calling on them to take safety precautions.

“If possible, always try to work in teams of two or more,” the flier says.

Thomas said HRC decided to leave it up to the GLLU to determine whether to publicly disclose the crime.

“We sometimes wait until we have all the information before we announce something like this,” Bell said. “Our main concern was that the victim was taken care of. His welfare was of primary concern to us.”

She said no arrests have been made in connection with the case.

The police report says the store employee described the gunman as a black male with a light complexion, appearing in his mid 20s to early 30s, with acne scars on both sides of his chin. The employee reported the assailant appeared to be about 5-feet, 4-inches tall, weighed about 135 pounds and sported a neck tie with black dress pants while wearing a long “puffy” coat, the police report says. He wore a dark green knit hat, the report says.

Acting Lt. Brett Parson, the former commander of the GLLU who now oversees all of the department’s constituent liaison units, said armed robberies are unusual in the upscale Connecticut Avenue location where both the HRC store and the gay bookstore Lambda Rising are located. Lambda Rising is located two doors away from the HRC store.

HRC, the nation’s largest gay, lesbian and transgender rights organization, bills the store as an action center and retail outlet aimed at promoting HRC’s advocacy work. The store sells clothing, including T-shirts and coats that bear HRC’s insignia, along with gift items such as DVDs and coffee mugs. The store distributes gay rights-related literature and sells HRC memberships.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Second District Police Det. Andy Way at 202-715-7358.