Nation’s Capital Has 301 Murders in ’89

The number of murders in the nation’s capital this year passed the 300 mark Tuesday after a night of street violence fueled by drug warfare, District of Columbia police said.

One man was stabbed to death Monday night, and two more died in shootings Tuesday morning, raising the 1989 city homicide toll to 301 victims. At least one of the three most recent killings was drug-related, police said.

Ten other people were injured in shootings or stabbings in the city during the night, a police spokesman said.

The 301 homicides compare with 216 deaths at the same date last year, when the District of Columbia passed Detroit as America’s murder capital on a per capita basis.

There were a record 372 homicides in the city last year.