D.C. police Chief Peter Newsham said Thursday an “ongoing dispute” is to blame for a rash of gun violence in part of the city.
At a D.C. Council oversight hearing, Council member Brandon Todd asked Newsham about the “unsettling levels of gun violence,” singling out the Petworth and Brightwood neighborhoods.
The violence included the killing of two teens inside a building in the 6000 block of 13th Street Northwest in February. On Monday, a man was killed in the 700 block of Quebec Place Northwest.
D.C.’s crime map shows several other assaults involving a gun over the past two months.
“Your concern and the concern of your constituents is real,” Newsham said. “To see the level of gun violence that they’re not used to in their community is unacceptable.”
“We do have a pretty good sense of the groups that are involved in this dispute, which is resulting in a lot of the gunshots that you’re hearing,” Newsham said.
According to Newsham, the police department has significantly increased its visibility in areas “where we believe this ongoing dispute is occurring.”
