Washingtonians tired of crime but skeptical of Trump takeover
The shooting broke out just a few hours after President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the US capital, which Trump described as overrun by crime -- though official data shows that violence has recently decreased.
"It's sickening," Tony told AFP early Tuesday. "It's not safe anymore."
"You do need change, you do need help," Mike said.
But Mike added that the city does not need the help Trump is sending in -- "not National Guards."
The day after Trump's press conference, residents of the area near the city center told stories of drug sales on the street, but were skeptical that federal intervention would make a difference.
Tony has always lived in the area and, like the other residents interviewed, did not want to give his last name.
He described a local street corner as an "open air market" with "all the drugs that you want."
Anne, who was holding pruning shears as she weeded, said needles are often discovered in the flowerbed of the church on the corner.
It was near this spot that Tymark Wells, 33, was shot around 7:00 pm Monday before later dying in hospital, according to a police report that did not mention a motive or suspect.
- 'Stunt' -
The area is the "wild wild West and it's always been like that," said Lauren, who lives in a building nearby.
"We're so desensitized," the 42-year-old added.
When Trump announced his DC plan, he said it was "becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness."
However the Department of Justice said in January that violent crime in Washington recently hit its lowest level in 30 years.
Because of easy access to guns in the United States, the crime number still "may look differently in America than it does in other parts of the world," Brianne Nadeau, a member of DC's overwhelmingly Democratic city council, told AFP.
"But we have made substantial strides here," she said, calling Trump's federal takeover a "political stunt."
The annual number of homicides in the city peaked at 274 in 2023, before falling to 187 last year. That is still one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the country.
Trump also justified the takeover by citing the number of homeless people in the city.
Ace, a 16-year-old walking her dog, said the presence of the homeless contributed to the feeling of insecurity.
Sometimes unhoused people would get on top of her parents' car, she said. "You don't know if they are going to break in."
- 'Only the beginning' -
While waiting for the National Guard, around 850 federal agents were deployed to Washington on Monday, making 23 arrests, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
"This is only the beginning," she said.
Terry Cole, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration tasked with leading the federal takeover of the city's police, said patrolling would be ramped up.
Federal agents and police will work "hand in hand" during these patrols, Cole added.
The city's Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has been forced to accommodate the takeover, said this approach is "the wrong way to do it."
Federal agents do not go out on patrol, she said. "That's not what they're trained to do."
Tom, who lives near the scene of Monday's shooting, told AFP there were not enough police patrols in the area.
But he also criticized Trump's "draconian approach," saying it was unlikely to "yield any good results."
Across the street, a small memorial stood in tribute to a different shooting victim.
A picture of a young Black man has been wrapped around a tree, with flowers arrayed at its base.
Turell Delonte, 30, was shot dead by police at the spot in 2023, after he was suspected of drug trafficking.
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Infuriatingly, the offenders are allegedly well known to police. 'I spoke with a police officer at our Mount Waverley store which was hit several times,' Mr Harrison said. 'Her commentary was, 'Fred, we know who they are, we know where they live. We will do the paperwork now then go around and arrest them and bring them in, but they will be back out on the streets this afternoon.' She said a lot of these youths have done it dozens and dozens of times.' Mr Harrison said he was 'very critical of the government for the lawlessness that is almost allowed to exist' between the gangs and the 'slack bail laws'. A Victorian government spokeswoman said in a statement that 'retail workers deserve to feel safe at work — that's why we continue to give Victoria Police the powers they need to crack down on offenders'. 'We will introduce tougher laws against assault of retail workers by the end of the year — the Worker Protection Consultation Group has already met and begun work on potential new penalties or offences for retail worker abuse, indecency and intimidation,' she said. 'Our tough new bail laws are already working to crackdown on serious and repeat offending — with remand numbers up. And now we have introduced Australia's toughest bail test for committing repeat armed robbery and aggravated burglary, as well a second strike rule for other serious offences like repeated theft above $2500.' Shadow Police Minister David Southwick said businesses were 'adopting crime prevention measures because they have been abandoned by a soft-on-crime government that have run out of money'. 'Not enough police on the street. Weak bail laws that encourage repeat offending. It will never end until there is a change of government,' Mr Southwick said. 'Victoria is in a crime crisis and the only business booming is crime. Shoplifting, theft, aggravated burglaries and business firebombings are at record levels. It's unacceptable that employees are forced to lock their doors and hire extra security because thee government has failed to keep our community safe.' On Wednesday, 774 ABC Melbourne presenter Richelle Hunt recounted how her husband had been shocked after visiting their local IGA and finding the doors locked. 'They were open but you had to knock and he had to get the attention of the owner inside to be let in, and it was only 6pm, it was still light,' Hunt told listeners. 'The owner said they're doing that now because they're worried about being robbed, and they often have young men and women who work there so they want to keep them safe. The whole experience was kind of surreal … [the owner] had to let the next customer in and then they had to lock the doors behind. It just made me feel really sad.' In March, Victoria passed what Premier Jacinta Allan described as the 'toughest bail laws in the world' in response to growing community pressure. At the time, Shadow Attorney-General Michael O'Brien argued the changes were 'weak' and failed to restore the bail laws to what they once were. Victoria Police recorded a 17.1 per cent increase in criminal offences in the 12 months to March 31 — the highest since 2017 — according to the most recent figures from Crime Statistics Victoria. The rate of youth offending surged 17.9 per cent in the same 12-month period, with 25,275 crimes committed by 10- to 17-year-olds. Crimes by 18- to 24-year-olds were up 16.5 per cent to 28,228. 'You hear stories they're tightening the legislation, but when they get into court in front of these soft judges they're getting slaps on the wrist and let out,' Mr Harrison said. 'One thing that's become clear to me is that the government has little respect for retail businesses in this state. Government has not reached out at any stage to sit down with people like myself.' Sometimes the criminals are even more brazen. 'We had an instance at one of our supermarkets at Amberly Park [in Narre Warren],' Mr Harrison said. 'A white van turned up in the carpark, virtually parked at the front door. Out jumped five youths. We had one person in the liquor store. They said, 'Come near us we'll stab you.' They stole boxes of beer, bottles of spirits, loaded up the van and drove off.' He estimated 'shoplifting has doubled in Victoria in the last two or three years'. 'We used to work on 0.5 per cent of sales [lost to] shoplifting,' he said. 'We think it's closer to 1 per cent these days. We turn over close to $1.5 billion. It's not exclusive to us, it's across the board. We're seeing more and more theft where people are running in and grabbing what they want, almost taunting you.' Security guards, meanwhile, are forced to 'just watch'. 'The laws are we cannot apprehend, we cannot involve ourselves, we literally just watch,' Mr Harrison said. 'The thieves know this, they just take advantage and taunt us on the way out. We only wish one of the parties would come out strong on law and order [ahead of the state election next year]. It's so sad this government is allowing this to happen.' Victoria banned the sale of machetes in May. From September 1, it will be illegal to own, use, carry, transport, sell and buy machetes in Victoria, without an exemption or valid approval. The laws, which carry up to two years in jail or fines of more than $47,000, were rushed through following a spate of public incidents involving machetes across Melbourne. Mr Harrison argued the problem was also being fuelled by the rampant illicit tobacco trade, now worth about $10 billion a year nationally. 'We're the good guys who have paid our company tax year on year, in our case for 155 years, while these clowns are just allowed to run rampant,' he said. 'What illicit tobacco is showing is you can make millions and millions of dollars and the penalties are that light that a lot of the hard dealers are now switching out of drugs into tobacco, because the consequences are next to nothing — it's a minimal fine.' The 'biggest loser in all this is our staff, particularly casuals', he added. 'We run our business on a percentage of sales being the weekly wage budget, so when you lose, as we have, 10-20 per cent of your sales, we are then accordingly reducing our staff by 10-20 per cent,' Mr Harrison said. 'We've taken out in excess of $25 million we would have spent on wages [due to lost] legal tobacco sales.' The Victorian parliament passed new tobacco laws in December, but the licensing scheme does not come into effect until February 1 next year. 'These illicit shops are trading right before our eyes, the police and members of parliament walk past them day and night, just bugger-all consequences,' Mr Harrison said. 'That sends a message to the shoplifters and thieves.'
