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DC Mayor Muriel Bowser slammed for 'blaming victim' in tweet after Uber Eats driver dies during carjacking

Uber Eats driver Mohammad Anwar died in a crash when two stun-gun-wielding teen girls allegedly carjacked him; the mayor's now deleted tweet apparently blamed the victim

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has come under fire for an apparently insensitive tweet days after the death of taxi driver Mohammad Anwar, whose cab was carjacked by two teen girls. Bowser was slammed for sharing a video from DC’s Metro police on “preventing auto thefts” following Anwar's death on March 23.

Anwar, 66, was reportedly killed when the girls tried carjacking him near Nationals Park using a stun gun. The names of the two juvenile girls arrested in the case have not been released by the police. 

Anwar, an immigrant from Pakistan who had come to the United States in 2014, was working as an Uber Eats driver in the Navy Yard area of DC when the two girls assaulted him with a stun gun and his car crashed. According to law enforcement sources, Anwar's car crashed and flipped over near the park when the girls, who were in his car at the time, attempted the armed carjacking. 

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According to the police, the girls, aged 13 and 15, were arrested on March 23, the day of the incident. Police documents released the following day state that the two girls were taken to the Metropolitan Police Department's homicide branch for processing after being arrested on felony murder and carjacking charges.

Bowser's seemingly insensitive tweet on auto theft came on Sunday, March 28, days after the incident took place. The tweet, which has since been deleted, read, "Auto theft is a crime of opportunity. Follow these steps to reduce the risk of your vehicle becoming a target. Remember the motto. #ProtectYourAuto." The tweet was accompanied by a video from the Metropolitan Police Department on "Five Tips on Preventing Auto Theft."

Bowser's tweet, which has since been deleted, came under fierce backlash. One user tweeted, "This sick sick woman has since deleted that disgusting tweet. She should resign immediately, if it was anyone else they would have to. I can’t even imagine blaming a victim for their own death. Sick!! What is wrong with her?" Another wrote, "Mayor Bowser, instead of addressing the crime at hand probably believes you just need to move out of crime infested areas and avoid giving them an 'opportunity.' Gotta love how out of touch these politicians are. Even locally."

A user tweeted, "'Remember the motto, #ProtectYourAuto' -DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Let me get this straight: our mayors have moved on from turning over parts of Portland & Seattle to anarchists to trolling grieving DC families of murdered Asian Immigrant Muslims? I have no model for this evil." Another asked, "Hey @MurielBowser, why did you delete this tweet where you blamed the victim?" A user tweeted, "Another Asian victim of the rampant hate crimes going on but this time CNN and Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington D.C. seem to blame the victim or make light of the situation."