Man killed, 8 others wounded in shooting in nation’s capital
By MICHAEL BALSAMO, AP
A man was killed, and eight others were wounded in a brazen Sunday afternoon shooting on a busy street in northwest Washington, police said.
Three men opened fire on a group of people standing on the street in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. just before 5 p.m., Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham said.
Investigators believe the shooting was a targeted attack. Two of the shooters were armed with long guns and one had a pistol, Newsham said.
Dozens of evidence markers were placed on the sidewalk next to shell casings behind yellow crime scene tape. A white plastic chair was toppled over and a bike could be seen thrown down on the sidewalk nearby.
The victims, all adults, included eight men and a woman, Newsham said. Two of the victims remained in serious condition on Sunday evening; the other six had non-life-threatening injuries, he said.
“This type of brazen daylight activity in a very, very busy block I’m sure was scary for this community,” Newsham said at a news conference at the scene. “They are putting everyone in this community in jeopardy. “
Investigators have already collected surveillance video from nearby businesses and some of the victims were also known to law enforcement, Newsham said.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said investigators were working hard to “bring people to justice.”
Newsham also decried a rise in gun violence and said investigators were working diligently to try to keep violent crime down across the district. So far, there have been 103 homicides in Washington in 2020, according to police statistics.
Earlier this month, an 11-year-old boy attending a July Fourth cookout was shot in the head and killed during an exchange of gunfire between five armed suspects.
