Amid the announcement of a new partnership aimed at curbing violent crime in four specific areas of Ward 8, a suspect has been identified in a shooting that killed one and wounded several others at a D.C. hotel.
It is called the Homicides Reduction Partnership, and it comes as the city struggles to turn the tide on a spike in violent crime.
“The keyword in all of this is partnership; partnership on a level that we have not experienced in the District of Columbia before,” D.C. police Chief Robert Contee said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city’s police department will work closely with city agencies, federal law enforcement and community organizations to target violent criminals and deter violent crime in the four police areas in Ward 8.
According to the city, in 2021, those four areas saw 21% of the city’s murders. Contee said if you look at police districts 6 and 7, which all four areas fall into, those districts saw more than 62% of the homicides last year.
Contee said what makes this partnership different is many of those involved will be working together in the same place.
“This is a force multiplier for the Metropolitan Police Department, with individuals from their respective agencies being co-located, physically located, in the same space with the Metropolitan Police Department,” Contee said.
A long list of agencies has committed to assigning agents to the partnership, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and the D.C. Housing Authority.
Together, members of those agencies will come together to better target people who use guns during crimes, according to Bowser.
“All of us are focused on doing whatever we can to make sure that 2022 does not look like 2021,” said U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves.
The 20% increase in murders between 2019 and 2020 was capped off with another 15% increase in 2021, as the city soared past 200 homicides in one calendar year.
Bowser and Contee said the program will continue the work of the summer and fall crime initiatives and includes some steps taken with those programs, including the use of Community Focused Patrol Units, which respond to areas seeing the most crime.
“We are not going to stop until we have every resource, and we throw every resource at the recent rise in gun violence in the District of Columbia,” Bowser said.
While the city has seen juveniles linked to more crimes, such as carjackings, Contee said a majority of suspects in homicide cases are adults between the 18 and 24 years old.
Bowser said work also continues to restore the number of police officers on the force to 4,000 officers.
“Right now, we’re at the lowest level that we’ve been in a long time,” Bowser said.
Ongoing investigations
Contee also said Friday that a suspect in a shooting at a Northwest Days Inn, which left a woman dead and four others wounded, has been identified.
A warrant is out for the arrest of Gerald Thomas, 18, of Temple Hills, Maryland, who once in cuffs will be charged with second-degree murder.
MPD seeks assistance in locating 18 year-old Gerald Thomas, of Temple Hills, MD, who is WANTED in connection to a homicide that occurred on 1/27/22 in the 4400 blk of Connecticut Ave, NW.
Have info? Call (202) 727-9099/text 50411
Release: https://t.co/ilaKvLPv70 pic.twitter.com/d7RoNEprYN
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) February 18, 2022
“Our reach is far and wide and our efforts are relentless and we’ll find you,” Contee said.
And with the help of the ATF, a reward of up to $40,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest for the death of Pamela Thomas in Northeast earlier this month. Thomas was sitting next to her 8-year-old-son in a car when she was struck by a stray bullet.
“This 8-year-old kid, his mom got murdered next to him. Think about that for just a minute,” Contee said.
Contee urged the public to help him find a person of interest in the case. Police have released an image of the person captured on surveillance camera. Contee said it’s believed two people were involved in the shooting, and it’s unclear if the person in the picture fired the weapon.
