Shortly after Washington, D.C. City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) testified to Congress on Wednesday the area is not experiencing a crime wave, a double shooting took place that resulted in a juvenile being injured.
Mendelson said while how people feel about public safety is important, there is no major crime problem in the nation's capital.
"When it comes to crime how people feel is important and some residents don't feel safe. But the number of violent crime incidents in 2022 was 45 percent lower than a decade ago, total violent crime last year was 7% less than the year before.There's no 'crime crisis' in Washington, D.C.," he claimed.
When it comes to crime how people feel is important and some residents don't feel safe. But the number of violent crime incidents in 2022 was 45% lower than a decade ago, total violent crime last year was 7% less than the year before.
— Phil Mendelson (@ChmnMendelson) March 29, 2023
There's no "crime crisis" in Washington, DC
Over an hour later, the report about the double shooting came in. It was later reported one of the individuals died from the gunshot wound at the scene.
BREAKING NEWS: CRITICAL DOUBLE SHOOTING W/JUVENILE INJURED: 3000 Bl. of 30th St. S.E. @DCPoliceDept and @dcfireems on scene of a shooting with two individuals with gunshot wound injuries. Initial reports of a juvenile and adult injured. CPR is in progress on the adult male. https://t.co/pmaZzVe2QI
— DC REALTIME NEWS (@RealTimeNews10) March 29, 2023
"During our hearing, there has been a double shooting with a homicide in SE DC. But DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson claims there’s no crime crisis. Dem-run DC is out of control. Soon we will take up another resolution to block DC's soft-on-crime policies from taking effect," the GOP House Oversight and Accountability Committee tweeted.
According to D.C. Metro Police Department data, there have been 42 homicides so far this year. At the same time last year, there were only 20 homicides. There have been 1,628 Motor Vehicle Thefts so far in 2023, with 783 Motor Vehicle Thefts taken place at the same time in 2022. Other crimes such as assault with a deadly weapon and robberies are slightly down from last year.