WASHINGTON -- Currently, D.C.’s murder rate is at 134.
That number increased again following three murders within a 24-hour period in the District this past weekend.
Behind the number are many grieving families, memorial services and young lives cut short, including a 10-year old girl getting ice cream and a 14-year old boy walking home from the store.
If it doesn’t stop, 2018 is on track to be one of the deadliest in the District in a decade, with the peak being 186 in 2008.
To stop the frequent murders, additional DC police officers are walking the streets in many violent neighborhoods, primarily in Wards 7 and 8, to try and build trust and have a presence to deter crime.
On Tuesday, Police Chief Peter Newsham also presented city leaders with his plan to alter some police districts starting January of 2019. This process usually takes place every five to seven years.
This would allow the department to dedicate more resources to high-crime areas and some of DC's growing communities.
This all follows a call from Mayor Muriel Bowser earlier this year urging the community to also step up and do more to get the crooks off city streets because many murders in 2018 still haven’t been solved.
Police attribute this year’s uptick to petty neighborhood beefs and crooks getting access to illegal firearms.
