Journalist Shot in Adams Morgan

We mentioned it briefly at the end of the day yesterday and it's been reported several other places since then, but we wanted to share some more details on how our good friend Brian Beutler was shot early Wednesday morning in Adams Morgan. Brian, 25, is the Washington Correspondent for the Media Consortium, a network of progressive news organizations like Mother Jones and the American Prospect. He's being described as a "well known liberal blogger" and while that's not incorrect, Brian is a hardnosed reporter. You can read some of his work here.

The story goes like this: Brian and his friend Matt had a few drinks at the Black Cat on Tuesday night. Brian sent out a Twitter that he was heading over to the bar just before midnight, and he and Matt were there for a little under two hours before deciding to walk to The Diner in Adams Morgan to get something to eat. While cutting across Euclid Street between 16th and 17th Streets NW, the two men were approached by who they've described as two black male teenagers, one of whom was wielding a small handgun. They demanded their wallets and cell phones, but before Brian and Matt had a chance to make sense of what was going on, one of the teens fired several shots and Brian was hit. Matt called 911, and Brian was taken to Washington Hospital Center, where his entire spleen was removed. He's expected to make a full recovery.

There's currently some question as to how many bullets injured Brian. At first we all heard that he had been shot three times -- once in the abdomen and twice in the shoulder. It now appears that Brian's shoulder injuries may not have been caused by a bullet wound, so he may have only been shot once or twice.

No suspects have been arrested. Acting Third District Police Commander George Kucik told us that detectives are reviewing crime camera footage from the corner of 17th and Euclid to determine if the suspects ever walked past the area of the camera prior to or after the shooting.