From ABC7:
Two neighboring communities separated by the Potomac River are experiencing similar spikes in violent crime right now.
At the National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland, police are asking for help in identifying individuals who fled with gaming chips from the MGM Hotel & Casino a week ago.
In the past month, there was also an attempted armed carjacking and a stabbing outside of the casino -- concerning incidents as we head into the summer months and just days before the first annual National Harbor Boat Show coming up this weekend.
Just over the Wilson Bridge, the City of Alexandria in Virginia is noticing a dangerous trend, as well. The past few weeks have seen several shootings. Mayor Justin Wilson said that firearms and young people appear to be common factors. Both jurisdictions are working closely together.
This year, serious crime in Alexandria, which includes homicides, rape and robbery increased 4.7% from last year. This increase was driven primarily by robberies, larcenies and auto theft. Even though overall crime in Alexandria is down, it’s the serious and violent crime that has seen an uptick over the past year. Carjackings and several shootings have residents uneasy.
Wilson said the city is working on restoring police staffing, reducing attrition, expanding "upstream" investment supports, such as mental and behavioral health and expanding community policing.
“There’s constant communication and cooperation because again, the borders aren’t magic. Alexandria is 15 1/2 square miles, we are a tiny city from a geographical perspective, so the people that are committing crimes here are very often residents of other communities and vice-versa. We have folks who live here that are committing crimes in other communities. In a number of these shooting incidents we just had, we made a number of arrests,” said Wilson.
He’s also working closely with officials across the river at the National Harbor, where similar violent crimes have been reported.
Prince George’s County Councilmember Edward Burroughs said he was in the casino’s security room examining the operation the day before the robbery involving the gambling chips.
“We do collaborate, we are in communication, and crime has no borders. Criminals unfortunately go from place to place to commit their crimes. To the extent that we can remain on the same page regionally, we intend to do that,” said Burroughs.
Additional measures are being put in place as the security teams from Tangier Outlets, MGM and the National Harbor are now meeting weekly.
While overall violent crimes in Alexandria decreased by over 12% since 2021, the city has seen crimes involving firearms double, from 76 incidents to 152.
“The city's violent crime remains 25% lower than we were 15 years ago. Our property crime remains 7% lower than 15 years ago. Yet, we cannot tolerate any crime in our community,” added Wilson.
Alexandria’s current budget, approved by the city council a year ago, included new funding for a special investigations unit focused on investigating those responsible for homicides, felony sex offenses and crimes driven by weapons. Over the past 18 months, this new unit has arrested 76 violent felons, a third of which were directly implicated in gun crimes.