Car-jackings plague US: Correction

In an article, 'Car-jackings plague US' (12 September 1992), we referred to an attack on a young mother in Washington by two black assailants. It is not our practice to refer to a person's colour unless this is directly relevant to the story and the article should have explained that this was an unusual and isolated incident, and one of the first instances of crime in black areas having spilled over into white areas. The absence of this explanation is regretted.