Three people were killed during a spate of shootings in the District Tuesday into early Wednesday, including a 53-year-old man caught in gunfire as he walked near Logan Circle in Northwest Washington, according to D.C. police.
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That shooting occurred about 9:10 p.m. on R Street near 14th Street, a destination for restaurants and bars. Patrons filled an outdoor patio at one restaurant a half-block from the shooting.
Police said Jeremy Black of Takoma Park in Maryland was struck in the upper body and died at a hospital. Detectives do not think Black was targeted, a police spokeswoman said. Efforts to reach his family were unsuccessful.
That shooting was one of several that spanned the District over the course of 18 hours and, in addition to the dead, left a woman critically injured with a gunshot wound to the neck and a teenager recovering after being shot by assailants wearing ski masks. Both of those shootings occurred in Southeast Washington.
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The violence brought to 93 the number of people killed in the city this year, up 18 percent from this time in 2020. Homicides are rising in the District for the fourth consecutive year.
The rise in shootings has put deadly violence at the forefront of discussions in the District and in cities across the country, also experiencing similar crime patterns. It comes amid a debate over recent cuts to police budgets and increased funding of alternative justice programs as part of efforts to confront crime as a public health issue.
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), appearing on “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday, said the city “is very focused on keeping our neighborhoods safe” with a spectrum of crime- fighting strategies.
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“Any time you see upticks in crime it’s hard to point to one thing,” Bowser said, citing as contributing factors joblessness and teens out of school, circumstances made worse by the pandemic.
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“You’re going to see historic investments in cities across America” in crime prevention programs because of new stimulus money, the mayor said. She noted federal funds may help recently released prisoners establish themselves upon returning to the District to deter them from reoffending.
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The D.C. Council is considering Bowser’s budget proposal — approved this week by the public safety committee — for the coming fiscal year that cuts police funding 6 percent while increasing spending on violence interrupters and other similar programs.
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That proposal is in step with pleas by activists pressing to shift funds away from law enforcement and into other departments to fight the root causes of crime, although a business leader from Shaw told lawmakers last month that crime is threatening investments and more police are needed. The District’s police chief said at that same hearing the force is now the smallest the growing city has had in two decades.
Tuesday night’s shooting of Black occurred in the 1400 block of R Street NW, three blocks northwest of Logan Circle and in front of the Gladstone Condominium building. One person reported hearing seven or eight gun shots and a woman’s screams.
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Brian Romanowski, the advisory neighborhood commissioner for the area, was standing near 14th and R streets when the shooting occurred.
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He described the block as a challenge, noting other shootings have occurred there in the past, including one in May that didn’t result in any injuries but left six bullet holes in a door to an apartment building near where Black was killed.
“I don’t understand why this keeps happening,” said Sarah Crosby, a 34-year-old federal contractor who lives a few buildings from where Black was shot. “It is super disturbing given how regular this has become.”
Nicole Taylor, who has lived on R Street for two decades, said, “It’s never been safe. .？.？. It’s unfortunate that my kids got to see this again.”
Romanowski was finishing up a tour with a group judging community gardens when the shooting occurred. He blamed recent trouble on petty disputes and said residents are asking for more police, particularly officers who walk their beats. But he said that “more police doesn’t necessarily solve the problem.”
D.C. Council weights smaller police budget while funding alternative justice programs
He agreed that “people are less likely to pull out guns if an officer is walking by,” but he said he wants to see alternative programs more fully funded. “I don’t think police are the only solution,” Romanowski said.
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On Wednesday, police released surveillance camera video of four men getting into a white vehicle. Officials said they were searching for the men and the vehicle in connection with the shooting and asked for the public’s help.
Earlier on Tuesday, shortly after 1:30 p.m., police said a man was fatally shot in the 3800 block of Halley Terrace SE, near the Bellevue and Congress Heights neighborhoods.
Police said the victim, Kenneth Cherry, 20, of Northeast, was taken to a hospital by acquaintances and was later pronounced dead. Police did not divulge other details. Efforts to reach the victim’s family were not successful.
About 4:30 p.m., police said a woman was shot and critically wounded in the 4000 block of Alabama Aven SE, near Fort Dupont Park.
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A man was shot and wounded about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 600 block of Atlantic Street SE, police said. A report says a gunman fired 15 shots at the man, hitting him once in the shoulder.
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About 12:40 a.m., police said a man was shot and killed in the 6000 block of Eads Street NE in the Northeast Boundary neighborhood. Police identified the victim as Tony Bernard Jackson, 51, of Capitol Heights, Md.
Jackson’s sister, reached Wednesday, said she did not know details of the shooting and wanted to consult with other relatives before speaking further.
Police said the teenager was shot about 7 a.m. at Chesapeake and Barnaby streets SE. He we was reported conscious at the scene, and police said they were looking for a gold sedan with two men wearing ski masks.
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Also on Wednesday, police said Anwar Christian, 31, of Southeast Washington, had died of injuries he sustained in a shooting that occurred May 13 in the 200 block of 37th Place SE.
Julie Zauzmer and Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.
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