Columbia Heights Shootings Cause Alarm – washingtonpost.com
“I’ve been living around here since I was in diapers,” said Chinata Nesbit, 21, who lived in an apartment across the hall from Terry. “It’s never been this bad.”
Well, I suppose it’s of some small comfort that this is the worst it’s been in 20 years – that suggests that we’re just going through a rough patch and it should get better. Or, maybe not. I don’t really know what I’d like to see done about it. I don’t know the best way to reduce violence. I don’t think that banning guns is the answer. There must be studies done on levels of violence before and after gun bans go into effect, and I’ll bet the change is not as drastic as people would like to think it is.
I’d like to see more police around. I think foot patrols would be great. I was talking to friends in Mount Pleasant, just a few blocks away, and they have police officers who are always around. I think having a few cops who actually know residents on the street because they’re around all the time would have a much higher impact on the amount of violence. It’s less flashy and more costly than banning guns, though.