In a bittersweet revelation, the mother of a Congressional intern who tragically lost his life in 2025 asserts that former President Donald Trump’s intensified crime crackdown in Washington, D.C. is indeed making a significant impact. Crime rates, particularly homicides, have plummeted by an impressive 40% over the past year, she notes.
New statistics released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association reveal a substantial decline in Washington, D.C.’s homicide rate, with numbers dropping by 43.9% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period the previous year. The figures highlight a decrease from 82 homicides in early 2025 to just 46 in the equivalent timeframe in 2026.
This significant reduction in homicides follows a major intervention by Trump, who directed the deployment of the National Guard while assuming control over the city’s police force. This strategic move occurred in early August 2025 as part of what the former president described as efforts to “rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse.”
During this intervention, President Donald Trump paid a visit to the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on August 21, 2025, emphasizing federal commitment to crime prevention. The federal oversight placed the DC Metropolitan Police Department under augmented supervision, aiming to suppress the capital’s crime wave. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Tragically, investigators reported that on a fateful day, several individuals were seen exiting a vehicle and opening fire on a group that included the young intern, Tarpinian-Jachym. This incident underscores the brutal reality behind the statistics, serving as a sobering reminder of the ongoing fight against violent crime.
Tarpinian-Jachym wasn’t the intended target of the shooting, they added.
National Guardsmen patrol the District of Columbia in 2026. (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)
Tamara Jachym, Tarpinian-Jachym’s mother, told News Media in an interview that the National Guard’s presence in Washington, D.C. is making a difference.
“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.”
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym pictured with his mother, Tamara Jachym. (Tamara Jachym)
“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.
“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 News Media: “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.”
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym seen fishing. (Tamara Jachym)
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.”