A man was shot at a gas station in Southeast Washington, D.C., late Monday and later died, police said, marking the District’s 200th homicide this year.
D.C. hasn’t hit 200 homicides since 2003, according to Metropolitan Police Department data.
The latest fatal shooting was reported at a Shell gas station in the 4700 block of South Capitol Street, police said. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died.
That shooting appears to be connected to another outbreak of gunfire that left a man injured at Galveston Street and South Capitol Street. He is expected to be OK, police said.
ANC commissioner Olivia Henderson says the area, near the Maryland-D.C. border, has been a trouble spot.
Past crimes and shootings have spurred D.C. police to keep a presence, Henderson says. She wants more patrols to make Ward 8 and D.C. safer.
“The police can’t do everything,” Henderson said. “If the community is not assisting, allowing them to prevent [crimes], then we’re going to keep having crime.”
D.C. reported 166 homicides in 2019 and 198 in 2020, a nearly 20% increase, according to police data.
The D.C. police officers' union issued a statement on the homicide count, sounding an alarm about crime rates and criticizing the city council for efforts to reduce police funding.
More than 400 officers have left the police department since June 2020, the union says.
“Police officers are hamstrung, if not altogether unable to do the impactful and necessary tasks needed to confiscate illegal weapons, apprehend violent criminals and protect communities,” the statement said.
Stay with News4 for more on this developing story.
