A string of recent armed robberies in the American capital has a warm clothing connection to Canada.
At least six people wearing Canada Goose jackets in Washington, D.C., have been targeted this year, according to police, with the robbers demanding victims to take their winter coats off and hand them over.
A District of Columbia police spokesperson told Global News on Tuesday that it was aware of the recent thefts of the Canadian-made luxury coats, but did not have information to suggest that there is an uptick in these specific incidents.
According to police reports of five incidents between Jan. 24-Feb. 5, shared with Global News, Canada Goose jackets were among the listed stolen items, which also included a BMW car, credit cards and an iPhone 10.
“No arrests have been made and no major injuries or deaths reported,” Brianna Burch, D.C. police spokesperson, said in an email.
Canada Goose jackets are a hot ticket winter item, often seen worn by celebrities and they’re not cheap. Prices for the popular waterproof parkas can range from $500 to $2,000.
The company has yet to comment publicly on these incidents.
On Feb. 5, a couple visiting Washington from New York were set upon by gunpoint by two men who demanded they surrender their Canada Goose jackets, NBC reported.
They were walking around with their son in the popular Dupont Circle neighbourhood in the middle of the afternoon when this happened.
“And all of a sudden someone’s like, ‘Give me your coat! Give me your coat! Give me your coat!’ And I thought, is this a joke?” Sheila Kaufman told the NBC in a previous interview.
“And then he waved a gun in my face … and I took it off and gave it to him.”
Her husband, Julian Kaufman, did the same after another gunman started counting down from five.
Two incidents occurred near the George Washington University campus on Feb. 1.
Surveillance camera footage shared by the Metropolitan Police Department of D.C. for one of those robberies showed an unidentified person run with a jacket in hand and get into the backseat of a white car before it drove off in broad daylight.
Lauren Elizabeth Helowicz, who was wearing a long Canada Goose coat worth approximately $730, was the victim.
She was walking near the GWU hospital and had a small handgun pushed into the side of her torso by the robber who told her “give me your coat”, according to the police report.
George Washington University issued an advisory earlier this month, alerting students about the Canada Goose robberies.
It said that jackets have been taken from victims, and in some cases weapons were brandished.
“These jackets are very expensive, and our community members should be mindful while wearing them, even in very public spaces,” the GW advisory on Feb. 2 stated.
In another instance on Jan. 24, a Howard University student was walking around campus when three masked men assaulted him to the ground, struck him several times and forcibly stole his black Canada Goose jacket worth roughly $1,470.
The student, Avery Cloud, sustained an injury to his left eye and forehead, the police report said.
D.C. police said robberies can occur at any time of the day, advising residents to run, hide and scream to protect themselves.
“If someone tries to rob you, don’t resist. Give up your property—don’t give up your life,” said spokesperson Burch.
This is not the first time that people have been robbed of their Canada Goose clothing in the U.S.
In Jan. 2019, Chicago police reported at least eight people had their jackets stolen at gunpoint in the city.
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