WASHINGTON — Dozens of children have found themselves the victims of gunfire in the DC region over the last year.
On Friday, the Prince George’s County Police Department released surveillance video of a shooting that injured a 4-year-old and a 14-year-old in District Heights on Wednesday.
"It's nonsense that the children can't come out here and play safely," said District Heights Acting Police Chief Ronald Tarpley.
Luckily, both children survived.
However, the incident once again put into focus how frequently children are injured in such crimes.
Between May 4, 2021 to May 4, 2022, WUSA9 has covered 42 separate shootings where a child was either struck or observed violence take place.
Additionally, during those shooting incidents, 41 children were either injured or killed.
This interactive map shows the reach of gun violence against children is spread across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Each dot on the map includes a link to an article about the crime that impacted a child’s life.
In five of those incidents, at least two to three children were hurt.
In another 29 shooting incidents, only one child was shot at the scene of the crime.
It must be noted, however, that this map only includes data from cases WUSA9 has covered. It is likely there are more children who would qualify to be placed on the map in the DC region as well.
WUSA9's Jess Arnold recently explored how gun crime traumatizes youth in our area. Activists across the DC region are working to fight the problem. Her stories can be found by clicking here.