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Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday she was directing the city’s police department to use as much overtime as needed to tackle gun violence following a bloody weekend in which a 6 year old girl was shot and killed outside a Major League Baseball Stadium.
Bowser announced his directive in a letter to city council.
“Over the past year, the District of Columbia has been grappling with a sustained increase in gun violence,” Bowser wrote. “The terrible incidents of the past weekend, including the tragic murder of six-year-old Nyjah Courtney, illustrate how far we still have to go to tackle the brazen shooters in our neighborhoods.”
The announcement comes amid a spike in crime across the city. On Monday, the Metropolitan Police Department reported 103 murders. The city saw 198 for all of 2020, according to police figures.
Bowser wrote that community members affected by gun violence want to see a sustained police presence.
“My responsibility to our police is to protect our communities and bring to justice those responsible for terrorizing our neighborhoods, threatening our families and injuring our residents,” said the mayor.
She added that the city must adequately staff its police force.
“Expanding and sustaining these increased police deployments in our communities for a year without hiring police requires a corresponding increase in overtime,” Bowser wrote. “But if the use of overtime is a necessary tool, it is not an ideal solution because it leads to the burnout of the agents.
Fans jump right into a camera after hearing gunshots coming from outside Nationals Park during a Saturday baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals. (John McDonnell / The Washington Post via AP)
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In addition to Courtney’s death, a Saturday night MLB game between the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres was suspended after a shootout outside Nationals Park during the first half of the sixth inning. Three people were injured during the chaos, sending players to their shelters and prompting fans to take cover and flee the stadium.
The shooting resulted from an exchange of gunfire between people in two vehicles, authorities said.
No arrests were made in the two shootings.
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