WASHINGTON — D.C. police have made an arrest in one of the District’s most recent daylight shootings. In recent weeks, there have been at least three shootings in broad daylight, two of them deadly.
Leroy Robinson, 32, of Northeast D.C. was being held for Wednesday morning’s shooting near busy Rhode Island Avenue, in which a delivery man was hit and wounded by gunfire.
In separate afternoon shootings May 16, a man and woman were killed near busy spots in Northeast and Southeast D.C.
“These have happened in broad daylight. People feel emboldened,” said Vince Gray, former D.C. mayor and current candidate for Ward 7 council member. “They’re doing this with impunity at this stage.”
Gray visited the Minnesota Avenue Metro station Wednesday to support a group of pastors who had taken to the streets in a bid to curb the District’s violence.
While policing cannot stop the problem, Gray said, it would make a difference if the D.C. police department were operating at full strength.
“It ranges anywhere from 3,500 to 3,700 [in the police force], when we’re authorized to have 4,000,” Gray said.
A high number of retirements has diminished D.C.’s police force, so Gray said he suggests offering incentives to keep veterans on the force.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently promised to marshal all the District’s resources to curb the violence. Last year’s homicide rate jumped more than 50 percent.
Gray said he wants a bigger police force.
“I would love to see the authorized strength go from the current 4,000 up to 4,200, recognizing that we are a growing city,” Gray said.
