A 12-year-old boy suspected of an armed carjacking in Southeast D.C. Sunday was arrested by officers responding to the incident, police said Monday.

The boy approached a woman at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and U Street at 1:06 p.m., purportedly demanding her keys and holding an object in his waistband she claimed was a firearm, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

After she refused to hand over the keys, the boy ran away and was subsequently arrested by MPD officers responding to the scene. Police said the boy had a gun on him.

The suspect, whose name is being held by police, was charged with one count each of armed carjacking with a gun and carrying a pistol without a license.

“I was just shaken up by it. I didn’t really know how to feel. I was frozen,” the victim recalled to WTTG-TV, adding that youth violence “is horrible. It’s gotten so bad and the age limit is just going younger and younger.”

The woman declined to provide her name for fear of retaliation, according to WTTG-TV.

Sunday’s arrest was the latest in a string of youth arrests for alleged violent crimes.

In early May, two other 12-year-old boys were arrested for two separate crime sprees. One of the youths was alleged to have committed three robberies in 10 minutes; the other was accused of being part of a group that purportedly carjacked eight people from April 16-29, 2023, police said.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.