According to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, 274 homicides related to gun violence happened in DC in 2023. This is a 20-year high of shooting deaths in the nation’s capital. The reason why it’s causing a problem is it is killing people. A solution is for the DC Council and Mayor’s office to implement multiple programs.
My peers are passing away from gun violence. The Washington Post stated that one student at Duke Ellington School for the Arts lost two of her cousins to gun violence. And such stories are becoming more and more common for Black people in DC. According to an NBC4 Washington report, “More than 90% of the victims and suspects in homicides and shootings in the District were black, and most were men, the majority between the ages of 18 and 34, despite Black residents making up less than half of DC’s population.” This statistic is important to me because I am a young Black man growing up in DC, and I want things to be more fair.
Solutions to gun violence in DC include identifying people at the highest risk of being involved and providing them support. In addition, according to DC Criminal Justice, having safe transportation options like DC SchoolConnect, which are vehicles that pick up students closer to their homes, can help prevent young people from being exposed to gun violence. Even my own middle school, Washington Latin, uses DC SchoolConnect. We all need to work hard to stop gun violence in DC.
People don’t deserve to die from guns. Remember the young lady who lost two cousins to gun violence? She started a group called Broken Concrete so her peers could talk about gun violence safely. Now, I am inspired by her, so I am speaking to you to help make all of DC a safer place.
