Six individuals were killed on Saturday alone in Washington, DC, as crime in the district continues to bubble over in the Democrat-controlled city.
The first shooting occurred in the early morning hours on Saturday. According to acting Chief Pamela Smith, who provided an update on the shooting investigation at the 2500 block of Ontario Road, Northwest, two individuals were pronounced dead on the scene, and another was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Deeming it “another act of senseless violence,” Smith asked anyone who saw or heard anything related to the shooting to contact the Metropolitan Police Department.
Also on Saturday Smith provided an update on another shooting. Police found a victim at 12th and U streets NW after responding to the sound of gunshots. That victim was hospitalized.
Just hours after that, authorities found a man fatally “shot steps away in the 1200 block of U Street,” according to the Washington Post:
Hours later, another man was shot steps away in the 1200 block of U Street, Watson said. Officers found a man dead at the scene around 5:05 a.m. The victim’s name was not released. At a bus stop in front of an entrance to the U Street Metro station, a Metro employee brushed shards of glass off the sidewalk with a broom. The crime scene was cordoned off by yellow police tape.
Later that night, police responded to another bout of violence, resulting in three individuals fatally shot in the Anacostia area. Two more were wounded.
“At approximately eight o’clock p.m. tonight our officers responded to the sounds of gunshot here in the 1600 block of Good Hope Road SE,” Smith said. “When the officers arrived. They found five individuals who were injured by gunfire.”
“What I have to say tonight is this is very disturbing. Very, very disturbing. And we’re asking you, the community, to please provide us with any information that you may have with regards to this incident tonight. We realize that there may be others who may have been injured tonight. We’re asking you to come forward. Speak to our detectives here at the Metropolitan Police Department,” Smith pleaded, adding, “Let me be clear: this gun violence has to stop.”
The Post spoke to one woman who admitted she has become calloused to the crime in her area.
“I got off the train and didn’t even pay attention to the crime tape because it’s like city decoration to me,” the woman, Anika Bradford, said. The Post added that “Bradford said gun violence is commonplace in her Southeast Washington neighborhood and, in 2021, she lost her 28-year-old cousin in a shooting.”
“It’s sad, I’m immune to death at this point,” the D.C. resident added.
According to reports, D.C. has reported over 150 homicides this year alone, and the D.C. Police Department’s social media page shines a light on an array of other crimes that have taken place in the city over the past few days, including robberies and assaults:
“This kind of gun violence is not acceptable in the District of Columbia. This is not a war zone. We want our residents to feel safe,” Smith added during one of the weekend press conferences, urging the community to step up and come forward with any information to help solve these crimes.
The uptick in violence comes as Americans in other big, crime-ridden cities, such as Seattle, consider moving due to crime as well as rising costs.
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Rising crime has been a talking point for conservatives, as the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in March announced a “nationwide billboard campaign” targeting vulnerable House Democrats for their embrace of soft on crime policies.