ABC News anchor Kyra Phillips revealed Monday that she was mugged by a “half-dressed” homeless man just two blocks from the network’s Washington bureau, underscoring what she described as the everyday reality of crime in the nation’s capital — despite official statistics claiming crime is down.
Phillips shared the story on-air while reporting on President Trump’s decision to place the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploy the National Guard to the streets.
“Scary as Hell” Encounter
“In the past six months, there were two people shot, one killed, just two blocks from our bureau,” Phillips said. “It was within the last two years that I was jumped walking just two blocks from here.”
She recalled the attack, describing her assailant as homeless, “half-dressed,” and “clearly not in his clear mind.” With no visible weapon in his hands, Phillips said she decided to fight back. “It was scary as hell, I’m not going to lie, but I fought back. I felt like it was my only choice.”
ABC ANCHOR: “Here in Downtown D.C., where we work, right here around our bureau, just in the past 6