A body lies covered by a tarp at the scene of a shooting at Stewart Funeral Home in Northeast D.C. in April.
© Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
Mathew 24:12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
Important Takeaways:
- A shaken Washington copes with surging violence: ‘This is not normal’
- Violent crime has long been a part of Washington life, the worst of it during the early 1990s when drug trafficking propelled the annual homicide toll to nearly 500 and D.C. earned an inglorious reputation as America’s “Murder Capital.”
- “It’s worse in some ways, like a wicked spirit is out there,” said Ronald Moten,
- “You used to not have to worry about crime unless you were associated with the streets, with drug dealing. Now you could just be going down the street, going to the car and you can be killed.”
- The randomness is reflected in statistics showing sharp increases in crime
- It is not just gun violence that causes anxiety. There are the ubiquitous “porch pirates” stealing packages from doorsteps and thieves smashing car windows that add to a sense of lawlessness. A Giant Food market in Southeast announced last week that it would no longer keep brands like Advil and Tide on shelves to discourage shoplifters.
- ‘There seems to be no consequences’
- The spike in felonies — homicides and robberies are up 29 and 67 percent from the same time period last year, police statistics show — is not the only data that is causing alarm. The number of juveniles arrested for carjacking has increased slightly since last year, with 41 of the 64 charged between the ages of 12 and 15. As of Aug. 31, a total of 81 minors had been shot in the city this year, compared with 66 over the same span last year and 37 in 2021.
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