The mother of a Congressional intern who was killed in 2025 says President Donald Trump's crime crackdown in Washington, D.C. is working as homicides have plummeted by over 40% over the past year.
New data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association shows that homicides in Washington, D.C. have dropped by 43.9% in the first half of 2026 compared to the previous year. In total, there were 46 homicides during that time period in 2026 compared to 82 in 2025.
The drop in Washington, D.C. homicides came after Trump deployed the National Guard and took control of its police force in early August 2025 to "rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse."
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Investigators said that several individuals exited a vehicle and began firing shots at a group of people, which included Tarpinian-Jachym.
Tarpinian-Jachym wasn't the intended target of the shooting, they added.
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Tamara Jachym, Tarpinian-Jachym's mother, told Fox News Digital in an interview that the National Guard's presence in Washington, D.C. is making a difference.
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"Something's working and I think extra eyes and ears on the ground is helping this happen," Jachym said. "From what I understand from the folks in D.C. that I do speak with and they're from all walks of life...They notice a difference. They feel safer."
"I remember when my son Eric was killed, there was a homicide every other day till the National Guard came in," Jachym said.
Jachym had a message for lawmakers who oppose the National Guard being sent to major U.S. cities.
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"Those are your constituents. They're being murdered, maimed, and live in fear. It's not OK. I feel that those elected officials have to start feeling compassion to the people who live in these cities who have been victims themselves of a violent crime or their families," she said. "You have to have empathy for us victims, not the criminals."
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital: "President Trump promised to make America safe again and the data proves he has done just that."
"President Trump has transformed our nation’s capital from a crime-ridden city into a safe and beautiful haven for residents and visitors alike. The President’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force have made more than 16,000 arrests including murderers, sex offenders, drug traffickers, and other violent criminals. The Task Force has driven down crime, beautified the city, and improved quality of life for countless individuals."
The Major Cities Chiefs Association also showed that homicides in Memphis, Tennessee dropped by 43.7% in the same time period, from from 119 to 67. Trump also deployed the National Guard to that city in 2025.
Jachym wants people to remember her son as a "kind, humble soul who would reach across the aisle and work with the other side to give and take to come up with solutions for the problems we're seeing in America right now."
