The U.S. capital city, Washington, D.C., is under a "crime emergency" after a surge in violent crime.
City Police Chief Charles Ramsey issued the emergency Tuesday, days after a British citizen was murdered in the city's affluent Georgetown neighborhood. There have been a total of 13 homicides in Washington since July first.
Ramsey says there also has been a sharp increase in the number of robberies and armed assaults during the past month in the district.
Under the emergency, police commanders can adjust officers' work schedules to increase police presence in high-crime areas.
Hours after police declared the crime emergency, six tourists were robbed at gunpoint in two separate incidents near the Washington Monument. Police say one of the robbed women was also sexually assaulted.