Photo of D.C. police officers manning a checkpoint in the Trinidad neighborhood in Northeast on Monday by Alex Wong/Getty Images
IT WAS ANOTHER bloody night in the District last night. Eight people suffered gunshot wounds in three quadrants of D.C. and just over the District line in Prince George's County. (Get details here.) No deaths were reported, but the violence follows a spate of deadly shootings earlier this month, including one night in which seven people were killed.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty reacted to the crimes this morning, The Post's Clarence Williams reports:
Interviewed on WRC (Channel 4) this morning, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said he was troubled by the spate of shootings and working to get more police officers onto the street to address it. But he noted that the homicide rate remains far lower than it was a decade or two ago, and he said crime prevention efforts had to focus on stanching the flow of weapons to the streets.
Continue Reading "District Grapples With Continued Gun Violence" »
Photo of the 1400 block of Montello Avenue NE, where a police checkpoint will be set up this weekend, by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post
IT'S AN AGGRESSIVE INITIATIVE that has its share of proponents and detractors, but reaction to the plan by D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Police Chief Cathy Lanier to set up a military-style checkpoint in the crime-plagued Trinidad neighborhood in Northeast is strong in many quarters.
Police officers will begin stopping cars this weekend in the 1400 block of Montello Avenue NE. The Post's Allison Klein and Nikita Stewart report that police will "record all license plate numbers, verify residents' addresses and ask others for phone numbers of those they are visiting, according to a directive issued by Chief Cathy L. Lanier."
Those who don't provide a reason for entering the neighborhood could be turned away, Klein and Stewart report:
"Legitimate" purposes to be in the area include going to a doctor, church or community event or visiting friends or relatives, officials said. Individuals can show a flier for an event to gain entrance, for example.The topic is Express's poll question of the day: "Is D.C. going too far by using checkpoints to prevent violence in Northeast?"
Continue Reading "Poll Center: Police Checkpoint in Trinidad" »
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