There were nearly a half dozen homicides in D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend, and it comes as violent crime has begun to tick up with the start of summer.
There have been at least 10 homicides in the District in the last 10 days, according to D.C. police data. They include 59-year-old Jose Carcamo, who was killed by a stray bullet Sunday evening, as well as a double homicide in which a 16-year-old and 19-year-old were killed in Southeast D.C. on Friday.
“I think what we’re seeing is really targeted conflict, interpersonal. We’re not seeing, and oftentimes we talk about like, crew-based shootings and things like that. These are individuals who know each other,” D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said during a news conference Tuesday morning.
“Instead of resolving it, kind of sort of the way we wish they would. They produce a firearm, and then someone obviously loses their life,” she continued.
Smith said her detectives have credible leads in many of the recent homicide cases and are hopefully close to an arrest.
There have been just shy of 70 homicides this year in the District, roughly keeping pace with last year. But around a quarter of them have taken place just in May.
Addressing youth crime
While police continue to combat the slight surge in homicides, the department is satisfied with an initiative launched last weekend to keep teens from fighting at a popular nighttime spot, The Wharf.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the privately owned area would have curfew for young people without a parent or guardian from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. after rampant problems with fights and violent crime there over the past few weeks.
Smith said the measure was a success.
“There were no incidents reported specifically regarding our juveniles,” Smith said. “When we did see young people coming down after the curfew, they were encouraged to leave, and they left without incident or any issues.”
Smith said police made 13 curfew stops for teens over the holiday weekend, mostly on the U Street corridor.
“I want to take a moment right now, just to remind our parents and our guardians to please, know where your children are,” Smith said.
Six teens were arrested, due to either high-capacity firearm magazines, disorderly conduct or assaulting a police officer.
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