The killings of a woman and two men on Longfellow Street in Northwest D.C. have frustrated loved ones, neighbors and local leaders -- but not everyone agrees on how to stop the surge in gun violence.
The victims were identified as 24-year-old Keenan Braxton, 31-year-old Donnetta Dyson and 37-year-old Johnny Joyner. They died after at least one shooter got out of a car on Saturday and opened fire into a crowd, hurting three others, police said.
For Dyson’s grieving family, the immediate, agonizing reality is that gun violence cost her two children, ages 12 and 16, the mother who dedicated her life to their future -- one they now face without her.
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"All she wanted to do was give her children a better life, that's it. That's all. And she worked hard to do just that," Dyson's sister, DaNia, said.
Police have not yet made an arrest.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser addressed the weekend violence at an event Monday morning.
“It’s another indicator that we have to act with urgency with people who are demonstrated violent offenders,” Bowser said.
Tiffani Johnson, a neighborhood elected leader, believes more social services and anti-violence programs need to get to the people who need them most, such as violence interrupters.
“I also believe in defunding the police. All of the mechanisms that have been put into place thus far have not stymied any of the myriad shootings that we’ve had, so it’s time to come up with another approach,” Johnson said.
The city council has already reduced the mayor’s budget request for more officers, and also put more money into violence intervention programs.
Denise Krepp, an elected leader on Capitol Hill, said anti-police sentiment is hurting efforts to fight crime.
“It’s up to each individual person in D.C. to contact their councilmember and express support for the police,” Krepp said.
As the community yearns for an answer to the issue of gun violence, officers continue to investigate the shooting on Longfellow Street.
Police recovered two guns at the scene, including an untraceable "ghost gun." They are still searching for a four-door Honda Accord they said is connected to the shooting.
A reward of $75,000 is also being offered for information that helps find the killer.
