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An assault and robbery that occurred last week near the Takoma Park Metro has city police increasing enforcement near the wintertime hotspot, even as a slew of break-ins and thefts from vehicles struck the community a night before.

The assault victim, a lone man, was walking from the Takoma Metro just before 9 p.m. on Oct. 17 when he was suddenly cornered by three unidentified teenage males who almost immediately began to assault him after demanding property, according to Takoma Park Police spokeswoman Cathy Plevy. The encounter ended after the robbers had stripped the victim of up to $200 in cash and stabbed him with "a razor-style knife" according to Plevy.

"He was taken to [a local hospital] where he was in stable condition," she said. "I believe he had surgery on the next morning, the 18th, and he was in stable condition the last I heard."

The man has since been released from the hospital, Plevy said.

Police are also investigating a rash of thefts that struck 14 vehicles across the city sometime between 9:30 p.m. on Oct 16 and 11:46 a.m. on Oct. 17.

Of the total, 12 vehicles were accessed after the suspects broke a window and one was opened after its lock was removed. Only a single car was unlocked at the time of the theft, according to Plevy, who said detectives believe the incidents are related.

"Most of the thefts were on Lee Avenue, and while there was no pattern to it, [investigators] definitely think it's the same people," she said, emphasizing the importance for citizens to both lock their doors and keep valuables out of sight from the windows.

"People say, ‘well, why should I lock my door if they're only going to break my window?'" Plevy said. "Well, they're breaking the window because they see your cell phone, your GPS or your iPod; something in there that they want to steal."

Some of the common items stolen from the cars included GPS devices, MP3 players, cash, credit cards, a purse, iPods, CDs and a civilian-issued taser, according to a police press release.

Investigators are currently developing leads on two suspects for the break-ins after video surveillance footage from two area businesses, a retail store in Prince George's County and a 7-Eleven in Washington, D.C., caught two men trying to make purchases using credit cards reported stolen from the vehicles, Plevy said. No additional information is available at this time, she said.

In response to the incidents, Takoma Park Police have vowed to ramp up their vigilance and patrol presence, using both marked and undercover, unmarked officers, in crime hotspots and citywide.

"We've stepped up patrols at night over by the Metro, and I know [Police Chief Ronald Ricucci] has been in contact with the Metropolitan Police Department," Plevy said, adding that other stakeouts and patrols will seek to target thefts elsewhere. "We're also increasing patrols, unmarked and marked, and stepping up patrols in side streets in those [hotspot] areas."

Anyone with any information about these crimes is asked to call the Takoma Park Police Department at 301-270-1100.