While March for Lives brought together thousands of anti-gun violence protesters in DC over the weekend, official data have revealed that the number of homicides in the city so far this year already surpassed that of 2021 for the first six months.
As of June 14, a total of 89 homicides took place in the District since the beginning of 2022, which means a 10 percent increase compared to 81 homicides in the same period of 2021.
When we look at 2021 year-end crime data, the figure reached 226, while it was 198 the previous year. (14 percent increase from 2020 to 2021).
Other significant data released by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) shows that law enforcement recovered more than 2,400 firearms in DC last year. It indicates a yearly rise in the past four years, with 2,371 recovered firearms in 2020, 2,299 in 2019, and 1,928 in 2018.
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The National Mall in DC hosted a major rally on Saturday, June 11 where thousands called for gun control reform in the wake of recent mass shootings, including the Texas elementary school shooting that claimed 21 lives and wounded seventeen others on May 24.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser delivered a speech addressing the protesters during the march, lashing out at the Senate for not introducing strict background checks for gun purchases and not banning assault rifles at the federal level. “Unfortunately, common sense ain’t that common in the Senate,” the mayor said.
However, Bowser herself was criticized by Harvard student RuQuan Brown who used to be a DC student and also spoke at the event. Bowser and other DC officials have failed to prevent gun violence and create a safer city, despite her promises, according to Brown.