A 12-year old and an accomplice attempted to carjack four different drivers in the DC area, and the DC police are saying it’s because the kids aren’t in school. There are millions of kids not in school, but they don’t go out and carjack people. Making excuses for thuggish behavior from a 12-year old only invites more bad behavior. The incident is part of a rise in carjackings across America but is it just “idle time”?

The two carjackers threatened all four victims with a gun. The first three attempts were unsuccessful, but when they pulled the gun on their fourth victim, she got out of her car. They drove away in the victim’s car, but the 12-year old was soon apprehended. The second suspect has not been apprehended.

The DC area has seen carjackings skyrocket, and the criminals are getting younger. The reasons given by police are two-fold. They say kids have too much “idle time” and that people are going through hard times during the pandemic.

According to FOX5DC, local police officials have suggested that without the focus provided by schools – many of which have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic – kids are more prone to have idle time.

“I can just say that when you have people out of school with a lot more time on their hands, I think that’s a large part of it,” said Detective Sargent Rob Grims, who also mentioned the financial hardship many families are going through in this pandemic.

The excuses given by authorities are laughable. The kids need consequences for their crimes and NOT excuses.

Another DC official said, “Young people need to be engaged, that’s just the bottom line. They need to be engaged in proactive developmental activities with caring adults, that’s what school is. It’s certainly a factor.”