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Earlier this week, Reginald Pickett was arrested following an incident inside a business in the 1200 block of New York Avenue NW.
At approximately 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16, police say that Pickett's alleged victims were ordering food when he took out a knife, threatened one person, and made derogatory comments toward them both based on their race.
When the second victim attempted to intervene, he was stabbed and Pickett was apprehended by responding Metropolitan police officers.
On Thursday, investigators said that Pickett was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, which is being probed as a possible hate crime.
"The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating this offense as being motivated by hate or bias," officials said. "The designation can be changed at any point as an investigation proceeds and more information is gathered.
"A designation as a hate crime by MPD does not mean that prosecutors will prosecute it as a hate crime."
According to the department, "If a person is found guilty of a hate crime, the court may fine the offender up to 1½ times the maximum fine and imprison him or her for up to 1½ times the maximum term authorized for the underlying crime"
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