DC installs new LED lights in Southeast to help improve safety

WASHINGTON - After a string of shootings in a Southeast D.C. neighborhood, the mayor and police promised to improve safety in the area. At the top of the list was the plan to put up more lights in the neighborhood.

Back in April, a 7-year-old girl was shot as she was walking home with her parents on Knox Place, about a block away from the Metropolitan Police Department's Seventh District station. It was a shooting that marked the beginning of a slew of high-profile shootings leading up to the summer for people in Ward 8.

Just after the little girl was shot, Mayor Muriel Bowser walked through the neighborhood and residents expressed concerns over how poorly lit the area is.

In just weeks, residents said the mayor has followed through and improved lighting in the area. New LED lights were installed for three residential streets that line the neighborhood where the 7-year-old was shot.

"We got lights now," said Ward 8 resident Lovell Tribble. "They are brighter than they were before. They're bright. They go all the way in my apartment.

"I'm glad for one because people get off of work late between 9 and 11 o'clock and you need lights so they can see. They don't want to get mugged around here."

However, some said it isn't enough and the lights for the rest of Ward 8 also need to be changed.

"I'm not completely satisfied because all of the lights are not up," said Paul Trantham, ANC commissioner for Ward 8. "I am thankful that I do see some lights that is deterring the crime and stuff right here on Knox Place. I hope that all of Ward 8 can be lit up within the next 30 days."

There have been 47 homicides in the city this year, three more at the same time last year.