(NewsNation) — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro blamed illegal guns and lack of accountability for the deaths of dozens of young people as the nation’s capital reached 100 homicides this year.
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, one day after President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency and announced a federal takeover of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, Pirro displayed posters showing 29 youths killed by gunfire in 2024 and 16 in 2025.
“I guarantee you that every one of these shootings was with an illegal gun,” Pirro said. “It’s guns on the streets. It’s individuals who are not concerned about accountability, who don’t have any reason to fear law enforcement.”
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Pirro said the district ranked fourth highest nationally in gun deaths two years ago and criticized what she called lenient treatment of young offenders by the D.C. Council. She called for eliminating three local laws that she said prioritized rehabilitation over punishment.
“No more of this D.C. Council, ‘Oh, you know, if they’re under 16, or if they’re under 19, or if they’re under 25, we’ll give them probation.’ No more, I’m done with that,” Pirro said.
The prosecutor specifically targeted the Youth Rehabilitation Act, which allows judges to sentence offenders under 25 to probation regardless of the crime; the Incarceration Reduction Act, which permits early release for certain offenders at age 25; and record sealing provisions that limit public access to conviction records.
When asked about addressing root causes of crime like truancy, Pirro said her focus remained solely on prosecution and victims.
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“I honestly am not concerned about why they commit crimes,” she said. “My concern is if they commit crimes. My concern is the victims of the crimes.”
Despite crime statistics showing a 35% drop in overall D.C. crime in 2024 to a 30-year low and violent crime down 26% so far this year, Pirro dismissed the data.
“You tell these families crime has dropped,” she said, pointing to the victim posters. “That falls on deaf ears, and my ears are deaf to that.”
Trump announced Monday that the Justice Department would take control of D.C.’s police department and deploy about 800 National Guard troops to help lower crime rates. The federal takeover is being implemented under the city’s Home Rule Act.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the administration’s move “unsettling and unprecedented” but not surprising.
NewsNation partner The Hill contributed to this report.
