Donald Trump makes shocking announcement about 14-year-old offenders and people think it’s ‘game over’

Donald Trump has made a new announcement about crime that has sparked a big reaction online.

He posted on Truth Social after a violent incident in Washington, DC, where a 19-year-old software engineer named Edward Coristine, who used to work for Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, was attacked. Coristine says he was surrounded by about ten people near his car early Sunday morning, only a couple of miles from the White House. Police arrested two 15-year-olds — a boy and a girl — and charged them with unarmed carjacking. The other suspects are still being looked for.

Trump shared what appeared to be a photo of Coristine injured and bleeding, and called crime in DC “out of control.” He warned that he might take action himself if things don’t change. One of his main proposals was to change the law so that children as young as 14 could be tried as adults and given long prison sentences. He said these young offenders aren’t afraid of the police because they know they’ll be released quickly, but that this would no longer be the case if his plan went ahead.

In his post, Trump described how local youths and gang members, some as young as 14, were “attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent citizens” without fear of consequences. He said Washington should be safe, clean, and beautiful, not just for Americans but for visitors from around the world. He also warned that if DC leaders don’t act fast, he might take over control of the city at the federal level.

Elon Musk backed Trump’s stance on social media, saying that a few days before the incident, a group of young men had tried to attack a woman in her car. A DOGE team member stepped in to help and was badly beaten but managed to save her. Musk said it was time to federalize DC.

This isn’t the first time Trump has talked about taking control of Washington to deal with crime and homelessness. But many people reacted strongly to the idea of prosecuting 14-year-olds as adults. Some online users questioned why minors should be treated that way, while others called the idea “wild” and said it felt like “game over.”