WASHINGTON — Washington, D.C. is promoting a new partnership aiming to get deadly weapons off of city streets.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, in addition to ATF and police officials -- including D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham -- spoke about one goal: preventing guns from other states from ending up at crime scenes within the District.
D.C. is allready partnering with federal agencies to investigate gun crimes/ But Bowser said now there's a stronger partnership in place to prosecute people who illegally get guns into D.C. from surrounding states.
Of the guns found at D.C. crime scenes, many of them come from Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, and the Carolinas.
While addressing this issue in the city, Bowser and Newsham mentioned the tragic shooting death of 11-year-old Karon Brown.
Karon was shot and killed following a fight over the rights to sell water and cookies at the corner of Nayor Road and Alabama Avenue, police sources have said.
“Less than a week ago, a mother in D.C. received the news that her 11-year-old, Karon had been killed by gun violence,” Newsham said. “Too often [shootings happen after] … a petty argument where a disagreement occur ... and rather than moving on a readily available gun is produced and someone is shot and killed.”
Bowser said too often at crime scenes, she is asked how all the illegal guns are on the streets of D.C.
“Sadly I’ve been on the scene of too many incidents of violent crime,” she said. “All that we have seen is unacceptable and we will use every tool in our toolbox ... to make our neighborhoods safer.”
So far in the District, six victims ages 18 or younger have been killed this year, according to MPD data. Four of those victims -- including Maurice and Karon --- were in Ward 8 alone.