Washington DC has experienced a surge of random street robberies in recent weeks, with criminals ambushing their victims outside of bars, libraries, and on busy sidewalks across the city.

According to The Washington Times, the seemingly random attacks come with a surge in violent crime in the first six months of the year.

According to the Metropolitan Police Data, robberies in the city are up 59 percent and total violent crime is up 36 percent from this time last year.

Some of the robberies have turned into fatal shootings in recent months. Dzhoy Zuckerman was a 27-year-old bike messenger who was shot and killed Saturday in an apparent attempted robbery.