As of December 8, D.C. had 152 homicides this year—a 58.3 percent increase over 2014.
Mayor Muriel Bowser this morning held a press conference to discuss the 12 cases that the police have closed over the past month, joined by Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier.
Chief Lanier: Some of the reasons for homicides: bump in a nightclub; theft from car; sharing cash from panhandling. pic.twitter.com/HDzpXHeXEy
— Public Safety in DC (@SafeDC) December 9, 2015
In addition to disagreements between individuals, Lanier also blames the proliferation of guns for much of the violence.
Chief Lanier: We have too many illegal guns on the street. Every gun we take off the street makes our city safer.
— Public Safety in DC (@SafeDC) December 9, 2015
A new map from a website called The Trace in collaboration with Slate wants to help people figure out exactly how many gun shootings have occurred near them.
Using statistics from the Gun Violence Archive, the interactive map plots out where shootings have occurred throughout the country and gives information about the resulting injuries and deaths.
You can explore the map for yourself here.
Rachel Kurzius