'Highest Murder Rate Ever' Was a 20-Year High, and It Was Already Falling

The claim that D.C.'s 2023 murders 'reached the highest rate probably ever' is false. The 2023 rate of about 39 per 100,000 was the highest in roughly 20 years, but more than 50 percent below the 1991 peak of over 80 per 100,000; D.C. homicides then fell 32 percent into 2024 as FBI data showed national violent crime down 4.5 percent and murder down nearly 15 percent. Mark rates it False.