WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has hinted at plans to extend his crime-fighting efforts beyond Washington, D.C., following the city’s first homicide in nearly two weeks.
A man was fatally shot just after midnight on Tuesday, concluding a 12-day period without a homicide. Trump had attributed this streak to his intervention in the district.
“We went 11 days without any murders, which is the first time in many years,” Trump stated on Monday, though the city’s crime records tell a different story.
The Washington Post notes that earlier this year, from February 24 to March 13, the district experienced 16 days without a homicide, the longest such period in at least six years. Ten-day murder-free stretches are rare in D.C., having happened only twice this year, once prior to Trump’s involvement in local policing, as reported by the outlet.
After spiking in 2023, homicide numbers in D.C. declined in 2024, and this year’s total represents a 15% decrease from the same period last year.
City officials have frequently referenced data showing that violent crime in the nation’s capital is at a 30-year low, opposing Trump’s federal intervention.
Despite these figures, Trump has consistently argued that violent crime was escalating in D.C. until he stationed hundreds of National Guard members in the area.
