Another Shooting Adds to District's Deadly Weekend

As District residents and officials grappled with what was already shaping up as one of the city's most violent weekends in recent memory, another young man was fatally shot and still another injured in Southeast early yesterday.

No arrests had been made in the death of Edward Mitchell, 21, who was found bleeding from the stomach in the 4600 block of Livingston Road SE by officers on routine patrol about 2:40 a.m. The slaying remains under investigation, police said, as do the other shootings and stabbings in the spate that began Friday night. The weekend's tally: eight people dead and at least eight wounded. (One death resulted from a police shooting in a domestic dispute. The man killed was identified yesterday as Clyde Tinch, 52, of Northeast Washington.)

Most of the weekend's killings took place in the 5th Police District in Northeast, despite increased police patrols since a crime surge in April.

Police officials and city residents expressed dismay yesterday at the mounting toll of killings: 73, which, for the first time, surpassed the number at the same time last year.

"It's very frustrating, because we're pulling out all the stops," said Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, who told the D.C. Council in February that the city "was moving in the right direction," as homicides and assaults with guns had dropped from last year.

Although Lanier pledged yesterday to continue her department's focus on the area, she said there was a limit to how much law enforcement -- as opposed to social services -- could do to prevent further killings.

"I don't think there's been more than just a handful of cases where the officers haven't been so close that they heard the gunshots," she said. "They're already in the right places."

D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) echoed that view. "There is just this culture of violence that persists," he said yesterday, shaking his head as he stood near the spot in the 1100 block of Holbrook Street NE where three men were slain by semiautomatic gunfire Saturday morning after an argument that might have begun in a nearby nightclub.

The climate of tension and frustration was palpable as Thomas walked the Trinidad neighborhood. On the surface, the street seemed suffused with tranquility: The sun shone brightly, a warm breeze rustled the trees and families strolled out of neatly kept rowhouses.

Yet Thomas pointed out scenes that can bring nagging doubt: A group of young men by a dilapidated brick apartment building sporting red caps might be making a fashion statement, or they might be advertising their loyalty to one of the neighborhood crews that often clash with one another. A young man who stared at Thomas warily as he rode by on a bicycle could be out for some exercise, or he could be looking for trouble.

"You really have to be mindful of your surroundings out here," Thomas said.

As he spoke, a woman in a gold sedan pulled out of a gated apartment complex for senior citizens.