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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- March 23, 2016
Homicides
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After the second murder at the same bus stop in less than a year, community leaders in the area are calling for more attention to be paid to the violence in that area.
Trantham holding the press conference in SE.
Paul Trantham, a member of the advisory neighborhood commission, said he wants to raise awareness on the growing issue of violence in Ward 7 and 8 of Southeast DC.
“We know violence is an unpreventable disease,” said Ward 8 candidate, Anthony Muhammad.
Muhammad said he has a book containing 250 unsolved murders, all of which occurred in Ward 8, that date back to 2010.
“The police cannot solve the problem. We have to solve the problem ourselves,” he said.
Out of the more than 20 homicides that have happened so far this year, six happened in Southeast. Last week, Ivy Tonett Smith, 39, was fatally shot when she was sitting at the bus stop on Naylor Road, between Good Hope Road. and Alabama Avenue.
Last year reporter Charnice Milton, 27, was also killed when transferring buses at the same location.
Both cases remain unsolved.
Bullethole from Smith’s homicide at the Naylor Road bus stop
“There is a war downtown and it seems like everyone has forgotten – it’s time now for prosecution,” said Milton’s father, Ken McClenton.
Police suspect that Milton was not the intended victim, and was instead used as a human shield in the shooting.
“While we were here, how many police cars have you seen patrol this area?” Trantham asked.
“Everyone should be outraged,” he said. Trantham hopes the conference encourages the Southeast community to “evangelize” and get more involved in reducing the acts of violence in Ward 7 and 8.