WH Reporter: I Was Robbed and Pistol-Whipped in DC

I grew up in New York City and considered myself street-smart. Crime statistics had always been just numbers. I walked the streets of Queens and Manhattan alone, day or night. That Saturday morning shattered that confidence.

It’s been more than two years. Since then, I’ve never walked the streets of D.C. alone at night. I Uber home every day—even though my office is within walking distance. I’m on high alert after dark, whether I’m working or just meeting friends. Fear lives around every corner.

I didn’t tell my grandparents what happened until a year later—I was afraid it would devastate them and convince them I should leave D.C. entirely. Truthfully, I still love this city. But the scar of that morning lingers.

Officially, the Metropolitan Police Department says violent crime is down 35 percent from its 2023 peak, and city leaders say we’re near a 30-year low. But lived experience tells a different story.

Last year alone, D.C. reported 29,348 crimes, including:

• 3,469 violent offenses
• 1,026 assaults with a dangerous weapon
• 2,113 robberies

That’s thousands of families like mine, who have endured the trauma and aftermath of violence.

Some experts say not all crimes are even reported. Others point to claims that police leadership under-reported data to make the numbers look better. One thing, however, is hard to manipulate: the homicide rate.

In 2024, D.C.’s homicide rate was 27.3 per 100,000 residents—the fourth-highest in the country, and more than double the rate from just a decade ago.

So far in 2025, there have been more than 100 homicides.

Among the victims:

• Three-year-old Honesty Cheadle, shot while sitting in a car with her family after Fourth of July fireworks.
• 21-year-old Capitol Hill intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, killed while walking through Northwest D.C. one evening.
• And just hours after President Trump declared a public safety emergency on August 12, a 33-year-old man was shot and killed in Logan Circle—less than a mile from the White House.

These are not just numbers. Each one is a person. A life cut short. A family changed forever.

I’m expecting my first child at the end of this year. And we’ve decided we won’t stay in D.C.—not until both the numbers and the stories prove the city has truly changed.

As a new mom, I want my son to grow up in a place where he can walk freely, play safely, and live without fear. I think most parents want the same.

And I hope—someday—we can live that vision here in our nation’s capital: a clean, beautiful, and truly shining city on a hill once again.