Good Samaritan rescues elderly man from armed teens in DC

WASHINGTON - A good Samaritan rescued an elderly man this week from an attack on Connecticut Avenue Northwest.

The teens had guns drawn, but the good Samaritan – John Henry Parks – stepped in to help nevertheless. 

Parks told FOX 5 that he saw the 69-year-old man walking on the sidewalk, on Connecticut Avenue near Cathedral Avenue around 9:15 Thursday night.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, that’s when two teens jumped out of a gray, four-door Hyundai with their guns pointed at the older man. They push him on the ground, and Parks said the man was fearing for his life.

Parks courageously rushed across the 2800 block of Connecticut Avenue Northwest to help. 

He yells at the teens, and then he says they point guns at him.

They apparently get spooked – hop back in the car –  and drive off, Parks recalled. 

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Cell phone video shows D.C. police officers responding to the scene, taking reports about what happened.

Parks told FOX 5 he's sick and tired of violence in the District.

"The second I saw, I ran over. I knew they had weapons on them," Parks said, "and it’s pretty scary. Yeah. It’s frightening.  

"In this day and age, it is easy to pull out your phone and record and I feel like, to be a part of this community, you got to step up for the folks in it," he added. 

Detectives are also investigating to see if the same teens tried to rob another man on the 2700 block of Connecticut Avenue — half an hour before the aforementioned attack.