Three people were wounded in shootings within a five-hour span across Washington, D.C., including one next to an elementary school.
Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to reports of a shooting next to Meyer Elementary School on 11th Street NW at roughly 12:30 a.m. in Northwest, D.C. Monday morning. Authorities found a man suffering from gunshot wounds in critical condition and transported him to Howard Hospital for treatment. Police do not have any information on a possible suspect in the crime, reports WJLA.
Police responded to a shooting near Fort Totten in Northeast, D.C., at roughly 7 p.m. Sunday evening. The man suffered non-life threatening injuries and police released information on two suspects in the shooting. Both are black males, and one of the suspects allegedly has a tattoo on his face. Witnesses saw them driving away in a red Toyota with Maryland plates. (RELATED: Police Shoot Man Firing Gun Randomly On Busy DC Street)
Another shooting took place near the intersection of T. Street and Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast, D.C., at roughly 7:45 p.m. Sunday. A black male brandishing a handgun and wearing a red shirt around his face allegedly chased the victim down the street shooting at him. The victim suffered non-life threatening injuries during the incident.
The homicide rate in the District spiked 54 percent in 2015, and is only 12 percent lower so far this year. Homicides have tripled in Ward 7. D.C. is suffering a violent year overall, with 96 homicides across the city. The alarming surge in homicides is down from the shocking numbers in 2015, but is still historically high. There were a total of 105 homicides in 2014 and 88 in 2012.
Outgoing Police Chief Cathy Lanier blasted the state of the criminal justice system in D.C. in an interview last week, expressing frustration with what many see as a revolving door for offenders, which puts violent criminals back on the streets.
“The criminal justice system in this city is broken,” Lanier told The Washington Post. “You can’t police the city if the rest of the justice system is not accountable.”
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