Crime is running rampant in Washington, D.C. with no signs of slowing down. Recent reports reveal an 11-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with a series of robberies that have left citizens feeling unsafe in their own neighborhoods. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The nation’s capital has been hit hard by a crime wave, and the latest incident has stunned law enforcement officials. An 11-year-old black boy has been accused of carrying out a series of robberies in Washington, D.C. The young suspect brandished a firearm and terrorized his victims, even as local politicians claim there is no crime crisis.
According to the metropolitan police department, the first robbery took place on May 21. The suspect demanded the victim’s property, who refused. The suspect then pulled out a gun, forcing the victim to comply. The suspect then fled with the stolen property. On May 24 and May 26, the suspect and an accomplice approached their potential victims on bicycles. They attempted to rob them, but one of the victims pushed the suspect away and ran away. The victim even witnessed the suspect brandishing a firearm in their direction.
These incidents are part of a disturbing trend that has seen crime skyrocket in D.C. MPD data indicates robberies are up 24 percent this year compared to the same time last year. Homicides are up 15 percent and the violent crime rate has spiked by 16 percent. Yet, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has stubbornly refused to acknowledge that the city is in a crime crisis, even as fatalities and injuries pile up.
The Memorial Day weekend was particularly bloody, with a rash of shootings, car fires, and a woman found stabbed in the Navy Yard neighborhood. The DC Police Union has put the blame for this mayhem squarely on the shoulders of council members and their ‘crippling’ legislation that has caused a massive exodus of officers.
To make matters worse, as Adam Shaatal, a Police Union official, stated, “Crime is out of control in the Nation’s Capital and D.C. Police are doing everything we can. But officers are leaving faster than they can be replaced, and we cannot find anybody to take this job because of the D.C. Council’s misguided and crippling anti-police legislation they passed.
The safety of Washington, D.C. residents is at risk and action must be taken immediately. The alarming increase in crime proves that the city is in a state of crisis. The D.C. Council’s anti-police legislation is only making matters worse, as officers are leaving at a faster rate than they can be replaced.
