I imagine part of the issue is the literal hell they live their lives in. Years ago I clerked for the Superior Court of Georgia and spent some time in their juvenile court system. The single biggest predicting factor for delinquency was lack of support from their caregivers and their broader community. For most, their single caregiver worked two jobs or had several other children to manage. Many didn’t even have an adult to be present in court. Most kids were poor but not all of them. Most were black but also not all of them. They were just about all kids who had pretty shitty lives. They weren’t working towards college or looking forward to the rest of their lives. They knew they were screwed already. Eventually they snap and have an aggressive outburst in class or they challenge police. I think it’s just to feel like they can be in control of just one moment of their own lives. Like they can have some kind of effect, even if it’s negative.

When their lives have so little hope and everyone in their immediate surroundings are either violent towards them or trying to take something from them it shouldn’t be a surprise when some of DC’s kids act the way they do.