Washington, DC officials are warning residents and visitors to the nation’s capital to be on the lookout for thieves seeking expensive Canada Goose jackets.
A spate of thefts of the defending jackets comes as vacationers prepare to visit DC next month to see the city’s famous cherry blossoms, leaving locals on edge.
“I am a student here and this is my campus, so I just want to be sure,” Naiyu Kuo, a student at George Washington University, told Fox 5.
Two burglaries occurred near the GWU campus, prompting school officials to send out an alert to students.
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Cherry trees are in full bloom as visitors enjoy the view at Tidal Basin on March 26, 2022 in Washington, DC (fake images)
“While none of the incidents occurred on campus, two took place near the Foggy Bottom campus on February 1, 2023. Jackets were removed from victims and, in some cases, weapons were brandished,” the message read. the school. , according to Fox 5.
Canada Goose jackets are expensive, from hundreds of dollars to $1,500.
In one incident this week, a New York couple who were strolling in DuPont Circle in broad daylight with their son said they were accosted at gunpoint and forced to hand over their Canada Goose jackets.
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Jackets hang in the Canada Goose factory showroom in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on February 23, 2018. (Reuters/Mark Blinch)
“I’m a lawyer from the South Bronx and I live in tough neighborhoods in New York, so I thought I would be well equipped,” Julian Kaufman told NBC Washington.
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“And suddenly someone says: ‘Give me your coat! Give me your coat!’ And I thought, is this a joke? Sheila Kaufman said. “And then he waved a gun next to me… and I took it off and gave it to him.”
Police released images of the suspects, who fled in a car, and are asking the public for help identifying them.
It is the latest incident in a series of such crimes. Last month, a Howard student was surrounded by three suspects, beaten and stripped of a jacket, NBC Washington previously reported.
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A Canada Goose store in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, December 1, 2021. (Long Wei / Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
“We want people to cooperate,” Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Patrick Loftus told the station earlier this month. “The property is not worth your life. Give that property away, try to get a good description of that person, and we want people to call 911.”
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Canada Goose clothing has also been targeted in other cities, most notably Chicago. Thieves broke into a Canada Goose store on the Magnificent Mile last month and stole loads of merchandise, CWB Chicago reported. The coats have been a favorite of thieves in the city since at least 2016, according to local media reports.
