Guns are more than news stories in the Brightwood neighborhood of Northwest Washington, where my home is located. They are a deadly fact of life.

Around 12:30 Wednesday morning, a neighbor took to our email discussion group to ask about a helicopter that had been circling above Missouri and Georgia avenues NW for 30 minutes. "What's going on?" he asked.

The answer came later in the morning from the D.C. police. A fatal shooting had occurred in the 6200 block of Eighth Street NW.

"At approximately 11:58 pm, members of the Fourth District responded to the listed location for the report of a shooting," the news release said. "Upon arrival, officers located three adult male victims suffering from gunshot wounds. DC Fire and EMS responded to the scene and transported all of the victims to local hospitals. Two of the victims succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced dead. A third victim sustained non-life threatening injuries." The first decedent has been identified as 22-year-old Sefjuan Jones, of Nashville, N.C. The second has been identified as 25-year-old Renard Marsh of Northwest.

The shooting scene is in a residential area two blocks east of George Avenue. I live three blocks west of the avenue. Two of the victims were found in the house, the third outside. Police don't know where the shooting took place, but they are on the lookout for a black BMW witnessed leaving the scene.

The good news: We've had only nine assaults, including shootings, in Brightwood this year. That's down from 16 last year, according to The Post.

The bad news is that Tuesday brought Brightwood's homicide total to three this year. A year ago at this time, we had none.

But guns we have.

The other night, neighbors behind my house in 16th Street Heights were awakened by gunshots. Shells on the street, but no bodies, were found the next morning.

We have guns.

This is no knock on the police in the Fourth District. They are out and about. They respond quickly. They make arrests. But they can't be everywhere — not like guns and the shooters who use them.

It deserves noting that overall crime — robberies, assaults with deadly weapons, homicides — is down in the city, according to Kevin Donahue, D.C. deputy mayor for public safety.

But the reductions are uneven. Eastern sections of the city rack up the big numbers. West of Rock Creek Park, relatively speaking, is a demilitarized zone.

But it is the specter of violence — fear that danger could be lurking around the corner — that sets neighborhoods, and neighbors, apart.

I guess some things in life, crime included, may just come with the territory.

Which gets us back to guns.

Why so many?

The answer, some may think, lies with the federal appeals court ruling last month that gutted the city's gun control laws. Now residents, after years of D.C. opposition, will be able to get permits to carry guns in public if they get criminal background checks, two hours of range training and a 16-hour safety course.

I won't be one of those trying to get a concealed- ­carry license.

Not that I am irrevocably opposed to gun ownership.

Records of the D.C. police will show that I am a registered gun owner — have been for years.

Got my license when I returned to the District after living in Maryland, where I acquired my .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle. Renewed the license last year after being fingerprinted and undergoing an FBI background check.

I know my way around guns, having fired an M1 rifle in Army training. I also am familiar with pistols. During my years as a special agent with the State Department in the '60s, I was qualified in the use of a .38-caliber pistol and a .357 magnum. These were the weapons issued when I was assigned to protect visiting foreign heads of state.

And that is the reason I will not seek a concealed-carry pistol license.

While my own weapon is trigger-locked with the key out of reach, I don't particularly like myself when I have a gun on my hip.

Recalling my experience years ago when I was pressed into service to help protect a foreign leader attending a U.N. General Assembly session and making an official visit to Washington, I back off the idea of carrying a lethal weapon.

I liked the experience way too much.

I loved the weight of the weapon on my hip, the glances I got from the people on the streets, in the hotels and at receptions who noticed the gun when my jacket slid open.

I liked too much the feeling of empowerment, and the what? — the itchiness to show off, to be seen taking on possible threats. Just spoiling for a challenge.

Back then, the lure of coming off macho was in my head.

It could be with me now.

I'll take my chances without a weapon. The District has enough guns without adding another.

Lots of guns.

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