Police Investigate Possible Hate Crime In Georgetown

GEORGETOWN, DC — A man was arrested for allegedly attacking a homeless man in what police are investigating as a suspected hate crime in Georgetown.

Richard Walter Moore, 40, was arrested on an assault charge for the incident that occurred on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street at about 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2.

Moore, a white man, allegedly attacked the black victim who was panhandling on the corner. Police said Moore called the victim racial slurs and told him to leave the corner he was sitting at.

The victim walked away from the corner and Moore followed him to an alley in the 1000 block of Wisconsin Ave, NW, police said. Moore then allegedly punched and kicked the man, and picked up a metal railing plant holder and struck him, police said. The victim was treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries.

Police said they are investigating this incident as a hate or bias crime.

"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," police said in a statement.

Moore, of no fixed address, was charged with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.

Patch File Photo