He is the 100th homicide victim in Washington, D.C. this year, but to his family, he was more than just a number.
Antonio Dean, 24, of Southwest, D.C., was shot and killed in the 1300 block of Stevens Road, Southeast, at 2:51 a.m. Saturday.
D.C. reached an unwelcome milestone on Saturday, hitting the 100th homicide in 2015, and residents are uneasy.
The hashtag #PrayForDC is being used on Twitter; it saw a spike of more than 670 tweets on Aug. 18, when Amari Jenkins, Tenika Fontanelle and William Conley were killed in separate shootings that occurred within under five hours of each other.
The number of homicides is up in D.C. this year so far, in comparison with the same time last year. At this time in 2014, there had been 72 murders.
As always, the reason for the jump in the homicide rate can't be easily identified.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has said the presence of repeat violent offenders on city streets, an influx of high-powered guns and the prevalence of synthetic drugs are all factors in the homicide spike in D.C.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
In recent weeks, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has announced several initiatives aimed at slowing the growing trend. Last month, she signed new legislation into law that allows police to take aim at businesses selling synthetic drugs, and she recently announced an increase in the reward offered for anyone who reports an illegal gun in city.
Also, the Metropolitan Police Department has stepped up patrols in several neighborhoods.
While these efforts may seem like steps towards a solution, Bowser says it may not be that simple.
"Everyone wants to know the one fix or the one thing that's causing it," Bowser said in an interview for News4's Viewpoint. "And the simple truth is that this violence is complicated. We see it in cities around the country right now."
Baltimore marked its 213th murder on Wednesday, surpassing both its 2014 total and the current number of homicides in New York City, The Baltimore Sun reported. In Chicago, 284 homicides have been reported, the most of any city, according to the Sun.
And while crime in any frequency is a cause for concern, D.C. is not the crime-plagued city it used to be.
Over the past 20 years, the homicide rate in the city has dropped dramatically. In 1995, 361 homicides were reported; nearly 400 murders were committed in the District the following year.
View 2015 Homicide Victims in D.C. in a full screen map
Amid the data, one thing is often lost -- a look at each victim.
Antonio Ayala, 34, was walking home in Northwest D.C. from a store with two friends when he was gunned down by two masked men who tried to rob him.
Philip Jones, 17, was shot minutes after he left a basketball game at Ballou High School in Southeast D.C.
Local news reporter Charnice Milton, 27, was shot by someone riding a dirt bike as she waited for a bus in Southeast D.C. The gunman, riding in a group of dirt bike riders, was trying to shoot someone in another group of riders, police said.
Thomas Harris and his sister drove into the city to buy crabs and fireworks. As his sister waited in the car, two men jumped Harris on New York Avenue and beat him with what his sister said was a baseball bat.
Police say a 17-year-old boy shot Tenika Fontanelle, 31, after he was involved in a dispute with her 12-year-old son.
Mayor Bowser was among the city officials who responded to the scene of Fontanelle's death, spending time speaking to residents.
"I assured them, their parents, that this should never be considered a normal day in their life," she said. "And we're going to do everything that we can to change it."
