Though D.C.'s homicide rate has decreased in the past decade, a particularly vulnerable age group is increasingly falling victim.
According to D.C. police, 108 people were killed in 2014, a slight uptick to 2013's numbers. Of those 108, nearly 50 percent were under the age of 25 when they were killed.
A group gathered outside the Northeast Performing Arts Center on New Year's Eve, as they have every year for 24 years, in memory of those young victims. With candles in hand, they read out loud the names of every person under the age of 25 killed in the District.
"A lot of these young people did not need to die because of violence, but because somebody did not love them enough," one long-time attendee said.
Assistant Police Chief Diane Groomes was in attendance, referencing the recent spate of violence during Christmas Eve and the following week, noting many of the victims were young people.
"We had a rough week this week," she said. "We're just praying for a quiet night."
The tradition began in 1990 by Rita Jackson, who wasn't in attendance Wednesday due to illness.
