The number of homicides reported by D.C. police in January fell to one of the city’s lowest monthly levels in decades.
District police reported two homicides in the month’s 31 days, one of which stemmed from an incident the previous month. In dropping so sharply in the first month of 2026, the homicide rate followed a declining trend that started in 2024, in line with levels around the country.
But only two killings in a full month is well below the annual rates that have been reported over at least 60 years. During some years in D.C.’s past, the rate of killings has exceeded one a day. In 1991, for example, the number of homicides approached 500.
What have been described as stepped-up efforts to pursue violent crime in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District — along with anti-crime measures adopted by the D.C. Council as President Donald Trump declared an emergency in the District and sent in National Guard troops — have been credited with aiding in the homicide decline over recent months. The emergency period has expired, but Guard troops remain in the city.
Police have cited the use of a new Real Time Crime Center and strategic patrol deployments based on criminal intelligence. They have also pointed to the allocation of resources to neighborhoods frequently affected by violence.
But it was not immediately clear Sunday morning just what were the most significant factors in driving down the number of homicides in January. Subfreezing weather over the past eight days may have contributed to the unusually low number.
One of the two homicides listed in police data occurred either late Jan. 20 or early Jan. 21. Malik Moore, 18, of Northeast was found with what appeared to be gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital, where he died. No information was immediately available Saturday night about a suspect or motive.
The other reported homicide was the death in January of a D.C. police officer who was struck by a car Dec. 23 as he tried to help a stranded motorist on Interstate 695.
Officer Terry Bennett died of his injuries Jan. 7, police said. A Washington man was charged with second-degree murder, according to police.
Police investigated 127 homicides in 2025 compared with 187 in 2024 and 274 the year before. The 274 figure made 2023 the deadliest year in more than two decades. The rate of homicides that year was more than 20 a month.
The 88 homicides reported in 2012 appear to be the fewest in any year going back to the early 1960s. Even that low number makes for an average of about seven per month.
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