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What’s a mayor facing a resurgent homicide rate to do? So far this summer, Muriel Bowser has raised the rewards for gun tips, tried to crack down on synthetic drugs, and floated new anti-crime legislation.
Now, as the District’s murder rate topped 109 after multiple shootings over Labor Day weekend, Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier showed off a collection of recently seized guns.
“You see before you the results of the hard work of the Metropolitan Police Department,” Bowser said, after stopping to admire the haul of rifles and handguns.
Police haven’t seized enough guns, though, to prevent the two shootings last night that left one man dead. Lanier said that one of the shootings, which left five men injured, fit a profile the District has seen all summer: multiple shooters and multiple shell casings, which suggests higher capacity magazines.
Lanier said murder victims and suspects this summer often have one thing in common: previous run-ins with the law. This year, 52 percent of homicide suspects had earlier gun charges, according to Lanier, while just 27 percent of suspects last year did.
“These are not people who are a stranger to the justice system,” Lanier said.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery