Police in Washington, D.C., arrested a man who allegedly fired on officers responding to reports of gun shots Tuesday while barricaded in an SUV with five hostages.
Luvell Alverson, 22, allegedly robbed four individuals and then shot at them while they were running away in the parking lot behind Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and Rehoboth Baptist Church. Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department responded to the sounds of gun shots early Tuesday morning, at which point the suspect allegedly forced five people into an SUV at gunpoint and began firing at the responding officers, reports WUSA9.
Police returned fire and a 30 minute standoff ensued, but none of the hostages were injured. Initial reports identified the hostages as suspects.
“I just kept seeing someone like creeping, walking,” one of the hostages told WUSA9. “I was like y’all he’s coming and he just started running to us and he was like, ‘Get the f – in the car! Get the f – in the car!'”
Alverson suffered a gunshot wound to the leg but the injury is not life threatening. He is charged with assault on a police officer, kidnapping and robbery. Authorities stressed this did not appear to be a targeted attack on police.
“As [officers] get out of the vehicle and start to walk up to the car shots are fired from the rear of the SUV,” Police Chief Cathy Lanier told reporters. “They take cover out of their police car…but then the suspect gets outside of the vehicle and shoots at police again, and they return fire.”
An electronic system installed around the city called ShotSpotter initially alerted police to the gunshots.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
