October Homicides Increase on Capitol Hill

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An increase in traffic fatalities made the number of deaths in October rise slightly above the number of deaths in September. There was also an increase of homicides on Capitol Hill.

According to D.C. Witness data, there were 23 deaths in October, including three traffic fatalities that didn’t result in a charge and 20 homicides. There were also 20 homicides in September.

Of the October homicides, Wards 5 and Ward 6 had four homicides respectively, according to the data. Three of the homicides in Ward 6 were located on Capitol Hill. One of the Ward 6 homicides was located near Navy Yard. In September there was one homicide on Capitol Hill.

Wards 1, 3 and 4 did not have any homicides. The traffic fatalities, that didn’t result in a charge, occurred in Wards 2, 7 and 8.

Besides the additional traffic fatalities, Wards 7 and 8 also had seven homicides, each.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, 32-year-old Kevin Thomas was a passenger in a car that was traveling at a high speed on the 4700 block of South Capitol Street, SW. The car hit two other cars and a traffic pole before catching on fire. The driver, Rodney Bell, is charged with second-degree murder and possession of PCP, a hallucinatory drug.

Bell, 42, has been in the hospital since the crash. When released, he is expected to appear in DC Courts.

Of the 20 homicides in October, 17 were shootings, two were stabbings and one was a vehicular homicide. Police arrested suspects in connection with two of the shootings, both stabbings and the vehicular homicide.

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