Public safety

Emergency anti-K2 legislation recently passed by the D.C. Council and signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) expands the definition of synthetic cannabinoids and reinstates expired enforcement policy, part of an effort to curb an ongoing…

TaQuan Pinkney was a determined, positive young man who was getting ready to start college. Though he did everything he could to steer clear of violence, he could not escape the reality of his Ward 8 neighborhood and circumstances far out…

After Areeg Abu El Hawa and a friend were hit by a car while in a Tenleytown crosswalk, all she could think about was her suddenly numb arm. She is studying medicine with dreams of being a surgeon. After being sent airborne by a car as she…

WASHINGTON — A spike in overdoses in D.C. linked to the dangerous street drug known as “K2” is draining critical District resources, officials said Wednesday. “Our emergency responders continue to respond to dozens of K2 overdoses every…

Bucking a trend in other major U.S. cities where the homicide rate is heading down, the District has just passed a grim milestone: More people have been killed in the city so far this year than for the entire year of 2017. And there’s more…

The Washington Times reported on New Year’s Eve 2014 that “the city finished the year with 105 homicides, one more than was recorded in 2013 — a year that included 12 people killed in a mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard.” 2014 also…

Two gay men were physically attacked on U Street near 16 Street NW in an incident that D.C. police are investigating as a potential hate crime, according to a police report taken at the scene of the crime. The incident occurred on September…

Four people were fatally shot in the District on Monday and early Tuesday, bringing this year’s homicide count to 119, surpassing the number of people killed in the city in all of 2017. The surge of violence has continued since this past…

A Romanian woman pleaded guilty Thursday in a cyber attack that took control of two-thirds of D.C. police surveillance cameras days before President Trump’s presidential inauguration in January 2017.

A major fire broke out at an apartment complex for seniors in Southeast Washington on Wednesday afternoon, forcing firefighters, bystanders and Marines to rescue residents, officials said. The fire sent flames and black smoke shooting from…

As a proud and happy resident of the Hillsdale community for the past 15+ years, I have dutifully crossed the Anacostia River every day to travel to work. Most of that time has been spent working in philanthropy. The landscape has changed…

Few police departments are better at finding illegal guns than D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department. But in the day-to-day battle to get guns off the street, residents in some majority-African American neighborhoods say they are being…

Since his release from prison weeks ago, Kareem McCraney has spent time wandering around Washington, barely recognizing the places where he grew up. The apartments and homes he knew have been replaced by upscale shops and condos.

Curiosity led Vernesha Poindexter to walk outside when she heard the gunfire. She didn’t know then that 42 bullets had been fired down a nearby street in Southeast D.C. She didn’t know that at least eight of those bullets had hit a…

An operator at the District’s 911 center failed to send police Monday afternoon when a parent at an elementary school in Northwest Washington called to report a man outside the building threatening to shoot, according to a city spokeswoman.

The crew from Wellington Park had been planning a drive-by shooting in rival Clay Terrace turf for weeks, police say, even buying a stolen car to use. On the afternoon of July 16, it was time to recruit some gunmen.