Hoodie stickup spree

A series of armed robberies that struck the grid early Saturday could be connected, based on initial descriptions of the two suspects and their modus operandi.

In a 25-minute span beginning 3:10 a.m. that morning, two young men in hooded sweatshirts brandished a handgun and robbed people at 18th and O streets, 16th and P streets, and the 1800 block of 19th Street. Only the victim at the third location escaped with his personal property. He told police the two men, one holding a silver revolver, ran at him demanding his wallet. The victim took off and said the suspects fled themselves.

Descriptions from the three individual victims largely match up. The suspects were said to be 18 to 21 years old, with one wearing a red or burgundy hooded sweatshirt, and the other in a black or gray hooded sweatshirt.

It's less clear whether two additional robberies that followed are also related. Around 4:30 a.m, two men snatched money from a woman's purse on 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue. But the suspects were armed with pepper spray instead of a gun, and only one wore a hooded sweatshirt.

An hour later on the 2200 block of Waterford Road—7 miles away—a home invasion resulted in the theft of marijuana plants, cash and a cellphone. The victim said he was in his backyard when two men in hooded sweatshirts forced him inside and ransacked the place.