It looks like 2019 is shaping up to be another violent year in D.C.
A fatal shooting this week marked the District’s 50th homicide; it’s a 35% increase when compared to the same time in 2018.
The 50th D.C. murder victim, Barry Holmes, worked with a construction company and was shot Wednesday while he directed traffic for a repaving project along Southern Avenue in Southeast near the Maryland border.
“All he did was come to work and now he doesn’t get to go home to his family,” said D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham.
Newsham said police were still searching for the shooter and investigating the motive.
Holmes, 57, lived in Temple Hills, Maryland.
“I’m sure the family is devastated by this,” Newsham said. “It’s very sad.”
The increase in homicides continues an upward trend that started last year. There were 160 homicides in 2018, a 38% increase from 2017.
In 2017, D.C. saw 116 homicides, a 14% drop when compared to 2016.
The lowest annual number of homicides over the past decade was 88 in 2012, according to figures compiled by D.C. police.
