The District witnessed its 100th homicide Monday night after a man was shot and killed in Logan Circle, the same neighborhood where an attack on a former federal employee inspired President Trump to take over policing in the city.
Metropolitan Police officers were called about a shooting on the 1200 block of 12th Street Northwest just before 7 p.m. and arrived to find a wounded man who wasn’t breathing.
Authorities said they rushed Tymark Wells, 33, of Northwest, to a hospital, but he died from his injuries around 10:50 p.m.
Police have not named any suspects or persons of interest in the shooting.
Mr. Wells’ slaying pushed the city into triple-digit homicides for the year, just hours after Mr. Trump took control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed the National Guard to stem a tide of lawbreaking.
“Last night, DC suffered the grave milestone of its 100th homicide for 2025,” the D.C. Police Union, which supports the president’s intervention into local public safety matters, said in a statement. “Let’s hope this federal intervention leads to real change to the laws in DC that allow this to happen year after year.”
Mr. Trump sought to address D.C. crime after an ex-Department of Government Efficiency staffer was the victim of a mob assault along 14th Street Northwest earlier this month.
Police said Edward Corisitine was walking to his car with a woman when a group of teens made comments about stealing the vehicle.
Authorities said Mr. Corisitine pushed his date into the car for her safety and turned to confront the group, who then jumped him.
News of the Aug. 3 attack reached Mr. Trump, who blasted out social media posts deriding the state of public safety in the District.
About a week later, the president announced he was sending in National Guard troops, taking over Metropolitan Police and ordering federal agents to help crack down on street crime in the nation’s capital.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs, and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore,” Mr. Trump said Monday from the White House.
Federal authorities have since been seen on patrol in popular nightlife spots, including the U Street corridor in Northwest, as well as in the neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, an area that has long struggled with violent crime and disorder.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, called the president’s move “unsettling and unprecedented,” but said she will follow the law and work with Mr. Trump during the 30-day emergency period.
Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said she has coordinated with the U.S. Marshals Service, which is overseeing the federal deployment, to suggest where agents are most needed.
The D.C. Council, which is almost entirely made up of Democrats, shot back at Mr. Trump’s declaration by saying it was a “federal intrusion” and that violent crime is at a 30-year low.
According to police statistics, crime has fallen precipitously in the two years since the District saw a generational spike in killings, muggings and carjackings in 2023.
But Mr. Trump disputed those numbers Monday when making his announcement. He specifically mentioned a high-ranking member of Metropolitan Police who is under investigation for allegedly fiddling with crime data to disguise the city’s level of violent incidents.
The White House said the District has the fourth-highest homicide rate in the nation — higher than other big cities such as New York City, Chicago and Atlanta.
The Trump administration also said the rate of nonviolent vehicle theft in the District is more than three times the national average, and carjackings went up 547% between 2018 and 2023.
Outside of violent crime, Mr. Trump aims to rein in the mobs of youth who run amok in Navy Yard, ATV drivers who swarm city streets and homeless encampments that he has regularly complained about since returning to office.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.