Homicides Rise by 33 Percent in October

By D.C. Witness Staff - November 5, 2020
Featured | Infographics |

There were 20 homicides in October, five more than the previous month, according to D.C. Witness data.

Most of the victims died from shootings with Ward 8’s count topping the district with six homicides.

There were no homicides in Ward 2. 

George Bernard Shaw III is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of 59-year-old Marcus Nelson and 39-year-old Simmeon Williamson Oct. 20.

The arrest came just two days after the two were killed. 

D.C. Witness previously reported that officers responded to the 1700 block of Irving Street, NE  for the report of a burglary in progress and the sounds of gunshots. There, they found Nelson and Williams suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Both men were pronounced dead on the scene.

Their deaths accounted for two of the four October homicides that happened in Ward 5. The third victim was 45-year-old Orlando Miller, who was shot on the first of the month on the 1700 block of Lang Place, NE.

On Oct. 22, 64 year-old Tyrone Brown was arrested for first-degree murder while armed in connection with Miller’s death.

The fourth victim in Ward 5 was Yisa Jeffcoat, 28, who was shot on the 1600 block of W Street, SE on Oct. 9.

Police have not apprehended any suspects in Jeffcoat’s death as of Nov. 5, according to D.C. Witness data.

Saul Hernandez, a 64 year-old, was the only victim in October to not be killed by gun-related violence. He died of blunt force trauma in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Ward 1.

During the early hours on Oct. 18, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers responded to the 1400 block of Perry Place, NW after receiving a report of a man down. They found Hernandez who died at a local hospital. 

Hernandez was the oldest of October’s homicide victims. The average age of the victims was 37. In comparison, the average age of the victims killed in September was 33.

Twenty year-old James Williams was arrested for involuntary manslaughter on Nov. 2 in connection with his death.

Williams was one of five people DC Police have arrested in connection with the month’s homicides.

Data also shows that three of the victims in October were women, including Noelle Wilson, 31; Cyhneil Smith, 23; and Lorraine Marie Thomas, 21.

Andrea Keckley wrote this article. LaTrina Antoine contributed.

*Editor’s note: The September count listed above does not include the police-involved shooting on Sept. 2.