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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Arrests made in series of crimes

The Spokesman-Review

U.S. Park Police announced five arrests Friday in connection with a recent series of armed robberies and sexual assaults of nighttime visitors to the National Mall, the capital city’s leading tourist attraction.

The Park Police, charged with patrolling the Mall, said the suspects are local teenagers and young adults, one of whom pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and first degree sexual abuse in the rape of a 17-year-old girl at gunpoint.

City officials hailed the arrests and offered assurances that the Mall, which features the Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and major Smithsonian museums, is safe for visitors at any time of day.

Washington, D.C., has long battled a significant crime problem but has striven to insulate the Mall and other historical sites favored by tourists.

Twelve people, including two children, were victims of crimes that occurred in five separate incidents between May 25 and July 11 along an approximately seven-block stretch of the Mall from the Washington Monument to the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building. Four of the victims were sexually assaulted, and one was kicked in the head and back.

Beijing

Typhoon destroys 50,000 homes

The most powerful typhoon to hit China in a half century killed 104 people and left at least 190 missing Friday after it blacked out cities and smashed more than 50,000 houses in the southeast part of the country.

More than 1.6 million people were evacuated from the path of Typhoon Saomai before it struck late Thursday with winds gusting up to 170 mph, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

But it weakened to a tropical storm Friday morning and by midday the Hong Kong Observatory said its winds had fallen, dropping it to tropical depression status.

Harrisburg, Pa.

Guard member dies patrolling border

A Pennsylvania National Guard member died after collapsing in 104-degree heat on her first day patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border, a Guard spokesman said Friday.

Spc. Kirsten Fike was two hours into the training mission near Yuma when she collapsed Wednesday. She died the next day at a hospital, Guard spokesman Capt. Cory Angell said.

Angell said the Guard has not yet determined the cause of death.

Fike, 36, joined the Guard in June after having served on active duty in the Air Force. She was a member of the Greensburg-based detachment of the 28th Military Police Co. About 60 members of the company were serving their annual two-week training by working along the border.

Fike is survived by her 13-year-old son, Cody, Gov. Ed Rendell said in a statement.

President Bush announced plans in May to send 6,000 National Guard troops from across the country to support the Border Patrol. Bush said the mission would free up Border Patrol officers for active patrols while the Guard members built fences, conducted routine surveillance and took care of administrative duties.