A member of the Washington, D.C., city council is asking the mayor to join him in calling for D.C. National Guard to help end a surge in killings.
D.C.Council member Trayon White, a Democrat, says the ward that he presents has a “cancer” of violent crime that is spreading to other parts of the city.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Mr. White said. “We have young men wandering through the community with AK-47s, letting off 60, 90, up to 100 rounds — daily.”
The District of Columbia had 13 slayings in just the first nine days of August and has had 161 homicides so far this year – a 28% increase from 2022.