Washington will likely end 2006 with the fewest murders in 21 years, and the second-lowest total since the mid-1960s, when the city earned the nickname the “Murder Capital on the Potomac.”

With less than two weeks remaining, the District has had 157 murders this year, down from 196 in 2005 and 262 three years ago. The murder rate represents the lowest in D.C. since 1985, when the city had 147 killings.