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Washington’s streets are paying the price for soft-on-crime policies, and this week U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro took a needed stand. Pirro announced that 17-year-old Marcellus Dyson Jr. has been charged in the shooting of off-duty D.C. firefighter Gary “Zeek” Dziekan, signaling that the federal office will pursue adult prosecution for violent juvenile offenders when the situation demands it. This is the kind of decisive action Americans expect when public safety is on the line.
The facts of the case are chilling and straightforward: the firefighter was accosted while walking home, handed over his phone during an attempted robbery, then grabbed the barrel of the gun when the attacker pushed it into his chest — both the firefighter and the teen were shot in the ensuing struggle. The firefighter’s quick thinking and bravery likely saved his life, but no one should be put in the position of having to wrestle a weapon from a criminal in America’s capital. The violent brazenness of a masked teen pointing a gun in broad daylight ought to alarm every parent and taxpayer.
Even more infuriating is the revelation that the wounded firefighter could not get through to 911 and had to call his own firehouse for help, a breakdown that exposes the hollow promises of city managers who claim the system works. When emergency communications fail, lives hang in the balance — and the buck stops with local leadership that has tolerated dysfunction for too long. Washingtonians deserve accountability for system failures, not platitudes that paper over the consequences of chronic mismanagement.
Pirro’s choice to bring charges under Title 16 and pursue adult penalties is the kind of law-and-order response missing from too many jurisdictions. Prosecutors who refuse to hold violent juveniles to adult standards when they commit adult crimes are effectively writing a permission slip for mayhem, and Jeanine Pirro is refusing to play that role. If we are serious about protecting families and first responders, we must stop coddling violent offenders and start enforcing consequences that deter future attacks.
This incident also exposes a dangerous contradiction: while federal prosecutors like Pirro move to hold criminals accountable, city policies have at times relaxed enforcement of certain gun laws and signaled leniency toward juveniles. That mixed messaging only emboldens criminals and demoralizes law-abiding citizens and first responders who put themselves in harm’s way every day. Conservatives who believe in public safety and the rule of law should demand uniform enforcement and an end to policies that excuse violence in the name of misguided reform.
Hardworking Americans must rally behind prosecutors and officers who are willing to do the difficult work of restoring order, and they must hold elected officials accountable when government systems collapse. Jeanine Pirro is doing what politicians in the District have often refused to do: prioritize victims and enforce consequences. This is why we fight for safe neighborhoods, strong families, and a justice system that actually defends the innocent.
