As gun violence increases in DC, local authorities announced an increase in rewards for people who cooperate with the effort to remove illegal weapons from the street.
The DC Police Department, in collaboration with the city’s mayor’s office, announced Friday that they have decided to temporarily increase rewards for people who provide information that helps authorities find and seize illegal firearms.
“We need the community’s help when it comes to holding violent criminals accountable and getting illegal guns off our streets,” said DC Police Department Acting Chief Ashan Benedict, standing next to a table of seized illegal guns. For the police.
Anyone who calls or texts information leading to an arrest and seizure of an illegal weapon will receive a cash reward of between $1,000 and $2,500.
Those who report an unregistered weapon or a weapon equipped with an automatic conversion device are eligible for an additional reward of up to $5,000, with a maximum reward of $7,500.
This increase in rewards will remain in effect until October 1st.
Here all the necessary information to report illegal firearms:
- Call 202-727-9099
- Send an anonymous text to 50411
According to police statistics, so far this year violent crimes in the capital have increased by 23%. Homicides have increased by 12%, among these victims are children and adolescents such as a 10-year-old girl murdered in front of her family in a shooting in the northeast of the city.
