Mass E-Mail Warns of 'Unprecedented' Violence

WASHINGTON -- Some D.C. residents are opening their inboxes to find a mass e-mail about violence in their neighborhood.

"An unprecedented cycle of violence" is how Ward One D.C. Councilman Jim Graham describes it in an e-mail he sent to his constituents.

More than 100 shots have been fired since Oct. 1, with about 10 people wounded, but no one killed.

"People might think that this is just random shootings, unconnected and I wanted people to know that we believe, that this is all related to gang shootings," Graham says.

Graham specifically names three gangs in his e-mail.

So what makes him so sure the shootings are gang-related? The fact that no one has been killed, Graham says.

"I think they were intentionally aiming ... to send a message that they were angry. Well, we're all angry now and we're all fed up."

Graham says D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier is considering his proposal to create a gang intervention police unit in Ward One.

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