WASHINGTON – Two police officers were shot Thursday night in northeast Washington, and a suspect is dead. Interim DC Police Chief Peter Newsham, alongside Mayor Muriel Bowser, told reporters just after midnight that the two uniformed officers suffered non-life threatening injuries, and are being treated at area hospitals.
One suspect was pronounced dead at the hospital. Newsham said shots were fired at the scene just north of the intersection of Holbrook and Morse Streets NE, but it’s not yet clear who fired them. The call first came in around 10:40 pm.
Sources tell FOX 5 both officers were conscious and breathing when they were transported to the hospital. There is no word on what led to the shootings, but Marraco reported it appears the officers were making arrests when they were shot. Sources tell Marraco they did not wait for an ambulance, instead taking the officers to the hospital in an MPD cruiser.
Two DC police officers were shot Thursday night in northeast Washington. Two officers shot in northeast DC, one suspect dead
Newsham also said a weapon was recovered from the scene, which appears to belong to the suspect. He could not confirm that the officers were making an arrest at the time of the shooting, saying many of the details are still under investigation.
Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie was also at the scene, and he said his thoughts go out to the officers, as well as the Trinidad Community. He told FOX 5’s Marina Marraco he was in the area just last night talking to residents about crime and gun violence in the community. McDuffie believes more resources are needed to fix the problem.
“These communities shouldn’t have to live like this,” he said.
This comes on the same night as three other shootings took place in the Congress Heights area of Ward 8 in southeast DC. Four people were shot in those incidents, and no arrests have been made.
It’s also the same day that Mayor Bowser announced she has chosen Newsham to be the permanent Chief of Police for the Metropolitan Police Department.
When asked about the recent outbreak of violence in the city, Newsham said their have been a number of shootings in the last few days, and officers have responded very aggressively.
as reported by fox5