The fatal shooting of 9-year-old Oscar Fuentes inside his Columbia Heights apartment on Saturday night was not gang-related, according to D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier. Lanier, along with D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham, this morning announced the arrest of Josue Pena, 26, in the killing. Pena has been charged with first degree murder.
As we noted in the Morning Roundup, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Police Chief Cathy Lanier are making their way to the 1400 block of Columbia Rd. NW right now in order to announce that an arrest has been made in the killing of 9-year-old Oscar Fuentes. The Post says the man who was arrested is Josue Pena, 26, who was taken into custody in Hyattsville just before 6 a.m. this morning. No more details on the arrest are available just yet, but check back in after the 10 a.m. press conference.
More disturbing information is rising to the surface in the wake of last night's awful murder of a child on Columbia Road NW. The Washington Post is now reporting that the victim was indeed a nine-year-old boy, killed while trying to flee from an attempted robbery. Shots were fired through the door of the boy's apartment, as the family rushed inside to escape. Some truly terrifying stuff. Three people were questioned last night by police, but no arrests have been made. Anyone with any information about the crime is asked to contact MPD at 202-727-9099.
UPDATE: According to MPD Commander George Kucik, a young child was shot and killed shortly after 9:30 p.m. tonight at an apartment on the 1400 block of Columbia Road NW. WUSA9 is reporting that the victim was a seven-year-old boy, but other outlets are reporting that the victim was a nine-year-old. WJLA/ABC7 is also reporting that the shooting occurred as family members were walking back from a party. The group was approached by a man with a gun, who, after a short chase, reportedly shot the child in the back. Detectives are currently investigating and anyone with information is asked to call 202-727-9099.
There had already been too much violent crime in residential Northwest neighborhoods when we posted about it yesterday; sadly, there was even more of it to report from last night. First, according to MPD, a woman was shot in the leg on the 1300 block of Euclid Street NW around 6 p.m. yesterday evening. Police say there was no known motive. Assistant Chief Diane Groomes also confirmed that there were shots fired in the 200 block of W Street NW last night. In this particular gunfight, two adult males suffered one gunshot wound each. Police are still investigating both incidents. Anyone with information about either of these crimes, or the multiple shootings yesterday, should call MPD at 202 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIME.
Some folks in Columbia Heights are reporting that their power has been out since last night. DCist first got word of the outage at around 10 p.m. Monday night, which occurred thanks to a smoking manhole at 1328 Park Rd NW. The affected areas are along parts of Park Road between 11th and 13th Streets NW, 13th Street between Kenyon and Park, and Monroe between 13th and 11th. Others in the same area, however, have reported no problems. Pepco's outage map shows that over 400 customers continue to be without power this morning, with an estimated repair time currently listed at 3 p.m.
The fountain water flowed as District officials gathered this morning to formally dedicate the completion of the first phase of the new Columbia Heights Plaza, located at the intersection of 14th Street, Park Road and Kenyon Street NW.
Attention, Columbia Heights! The official word has just come down that D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty will formally dedicate the new Columbia Heights Plaza and "Resonance" Fountain on Monday, Sept. 28 at 10:30 a.m. So let all the endless speculation cease. It does seem, however, that the plaza itself was pretty much mostly done and open last night.
The 1300 block of Kenyon Street NW (between 13th and 14th streets) closed beginning this morning as part of the ongoing Columbia Heights Streetscape Project. DDOT is advising motorists that crews are scheduled to complete an asphalt overlay on that block of Kenyon by close of business on Wednesday (9/23), weather permitting. Traffic is being detoured to Park Road or Columbia Road.
D.C. police made an arrest today in the fatal shooting of 48-year-old Deborah Ann Brown. Brown died Saturday evening in the 2900 block of 14th Street NW, after being struck in what appears to have been gunfire aimed at someone else.
MPD is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and indictment of a suspect who shot and killed a woman on the 2800 2900 block of 14th Street NW around 9:30 p.m. last night. The woman was shot in the upper body and died after arriving at MedStar Hospital. Based on reports from residents, the homicide basically closed down 14th Street NW between Harvard and Girard Streets for hours -- helicopters also cased the neighborhood for quite some time, obviously with little luck. UPDATE: Police are now confirming that the shooting actually occurred on the 2900 block of 14th Street and that the victim was 48-year-old Deborah Ann Brown.
An adult male was shot this afternoon near the intersection of 16th Street and Spring Road NW.
There's a few things happening in the world of organic grocery stores lately, with some good news for Petworth folks and not-so-good news for Columbia Heights residents. First the good: the Yes! Organic Market at 4100 Georgia Avenue NW officially opens today at 3 p.m. Wednesday at 10 a.m. As for the bad, over the past few weeks some passersby have reported construction work being done in the space that Ellwood Thompson's organic supermarket is renting in the DCUSA complex at 14th and Irving. You'll recall that back in April the Richmond-based grocer announced the opening of their first D.C. store was delayed indefinitely due to the economy. Of the recent visible work inside the space, Ellwood Thompson spokesperson Cyndi Watkins had this to say: "As of right now I have not heard anything new about us moving to D.C. Any construction being done must be work the landlord is doing." UPDATE: Looks like Ward 4 Council member Muriel Bowser's office jumped the gun on announcing the Petworth opening. A spokesperson for Yes! Organic Market now tells us that the store will be opening for the first time at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 19, with the ceremonial ribbon cutting pushed back to Thursday, August 27. Both Bowser and Mayor Adrian Fenty are expected to be in attendance on August 27.
Some time ago I asked the DCist writing staff to avoid using the term "hipster" whenever possible. It's a word we all hear and say plenty, but I'm never quite sure what different people really mean by it. Is it just someone who wears skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors? Is it people who compost and keep chickens in their urban gardens? Is any man under 35 who has unusual facial hair a hipster? What's the difference between a scenester and hipster? Are you talking about these people? Or these people? Until I figure out some satisfactory answers, I prefer our writers be more specific about what they really mean. Using "hipster" just seems lazy and vague.
Relatively new Columbia Heights chicken carryout spot Kiko's Chicken has closed up shop, Prince of Petworth reports. The restaurant had only opened in March, but had kept odd and inconsistent operating hours, often closing at 8 p.m. on weeknights. For those who had a chance to try out Kiko's equally inconsistent online ordering service, their memorable/grating theme song, "I want to eat ... Kiko's right now!" will surely be missed. A message on the outgoing voicemail at Kiko's says that a new Peruvian-style chicken joint, to be called Pollo Mio, will soon take over the space.
The date for the third annual Columbia Heights Day has been set -- this year's iteration will be August 29 on the field at Harriet Tubman Elementary School at 11th and Kenyon Streets NW (across the street from Wonderland). Organizers tell us this year's fest will feature live music, dance groups, eating contests, local businesses, kids' activities, and more, including a petting zoo. Last year's Columbia Heights Day was pretty fun, with the petting zoo featuring a camel, and a cupcake eating contest featured some local politicians -- council candidate Patrick Mara held his own eating the cakes, while Jim Graham and Carol Schwartz performed various hosting/hanging around duties. And FYI, Columbia Heights Day still accepting applications for local businesses and restaurants, community groups, and craftspeople who'd like to participate: go to their website or email columbiaheightsday[at]gmail[dot]com
DCist is receiving reports of a fire on Irving Street near Columbia Road NW, near the Highland Park Residential Building. A staffer at Commonwealth Gastro Pub, which is housed in the building, said that an HVAC unit had caught fire. One correspondent said that he was forced to divert from his route down Irving due to all the smoke from the fire, which drew several firetrucks. Emergency officials evacuated the Highland Park building and its restaurants (including Commonwealth and Pete's Apizza). Staff at both expected that they would reopen before the start of the evening.
Well, this situation just keeps getting worse and worse, now doesn't it? It was awful enough that Thursday's shooting at the Columbia Heights Metro station stemmed from an orientation for the District's Summer Jobs Program, but news broke earlier this evening that the main suspect in the crime is a nineteen-year-old who had been interning in, of all people, Councilman Jim Graham's office.
WJLA culls this remarkable detail from today's double shooting in Columbia Heights: the argument between two youths that precipitated the shooting began at an orientation for the mayor's Summer Youth Jobs Program. Ward 1's Jim Graham confirmed that police confiscated a revolver and a set of brass knuckles at the orientation, attended by some 2,500 summer jobbers, at the Washington Convention Center earlier today, and that this incident appears to have stemmed from that earlier scuffle.
Two people were shot at about 3:15 p.m. outside the Columbia Heights Metro station. At least one male is reported to have been shot three times and in critical condition, though FOX 5 is reporting that both victims were shot in the legs. The shooting is reported to have taken place near the corner of 14th & Irving Streets NW, though the incident may have begun slightly south of the Metro station, in the 3000 block of 14th Street NW. Many rounds appear to have been fired in the shooting, and details are still scant. Police have blocked off 14th Street and Irving Street in both directions, and the south entrance to the Metro station is currently closed. Avoid the area for the time being if at all possible.
International House of Pancakes is in talks to open a restaurant in the DCUSA development in Columbia Heights, according to the Washington Business Journal. We've witnessed a lot of debate and handwringing in the past about the relative classiness of businesses going in to DCUSA, but surely everyone can agree on Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity.
In a press release and message posted to their company blog today, Richmond-based organic grocer Ellwood Thompson's announced that their planned expansion to the DCUSA development in Columbia Heights is on hold, seemingly indefinitely.
Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market announced today that they have delayed their plans for expansion to the Washington D.C.. Citing the slowing economy, the company will not open a store at the DCUSA project this fall as originally planned. “We are disappointed that we can’t move ahead with our plans at this time” stated Rick Hood, owner of the company. “We believe that DCUSA in Columbia Heights is an excellent location choice and are eager to serve this community, which is a perfect fit for our products and philosophy. However, with this delay we are acting prudently to keep our company sound during these difficult times for retailers. We continue to work with DCUSA on a timetable to locate there”.We're still waiting to hear back from company spokesperson Cyndi Watkins with some more details on what happened. Signs have been up in the windows of the section of the DCUSA building intended for the grocery store for months, but almost no visible work has been completed in building out the space.
We mentioned this briefly over the weekend, but it's worth looking into -- there have been various reports and rumors that portions of Columbia Heights were going to be renamed Tivoli North (or sometimes Tivoli Heights) after the theater located at 14th and Park Road. The name change (or invention) infuriated many, but then it turns out to have been blown out of proportion.
While this editor had heard rumblings about this from our staff who live in Columbia Heights, it wasn't clear whether it was true: was ANC 1A actually pushing to change the name of part of the neighborhood to "Tivoli North" because of some April Fools jokes? Well, as Greater Greater Washington reported yesterday, kinda sorta. The ANC had been considering a proposal for promotional banners well before April which would have, at least marginally, recognized the stretch of 14th Street between Monroe and Shepard Streets NW as "Tivoli North". But after emails and (admittedly obvious) blog posts began making the rounds on April 1 claiming that the ANC was exploring slapping the "Tivoli North" moniker on the neighborhood as a whole, folks got uppity and came to the ANC's most recent meeting in droves. Long story short, the banners aren't going up (yet), and the hood is still good, old Columbia Heights. Man, between this and the brouhaha over The Hoya's April 1 edition, not doing an April Fools joke is looking like a better decision by the day.
Sadly, last night was yet another violent one in Columbia Heights, as multiple listserv reports -- including one from Councilman Jim Graham -- describe more gunshots on the 1300 block of Columbia Road NW. First, Graham reports that shortly after 7:30 yesterday evening, a 51-year old man was struck by bullets in the wrist, hand, and thigh. No one is sure of his connection, if any, to the mostly gang-related violence that has plagued the block for the last few months. The man is expected to recover.
Here's a message recently sent out to the Columbia Heights email list:
A week or so ago, I posted about how vandals came into our front yard and stole our Gargoyles. It looks like they pried them off in one piece, so I expect they are somewhere nearby or have been resold.Continue reading "Have You Seen These Gargoyles?"
Police Third District Inspector Edward Delgado sent this message out to Columbia Heights residents this morning via the 3D email list:
I find it to be my responsibility to alert you of a new trend (Home Invasion) within the Washington region that could pose a threat to the Columbia Heights Neighborhood. The common method of operation is that someone unexpectedly either knocks or bangs on your door. Upon opening the door to ascertain what the emergency is, they rush in and announce a robbery. I ask that if your front door is not equipped with a peep hole or similar device that you have one installed. If you feel uncomfortable with a person at your door please call 911 and advise them you have someone at your door and that they are trying to get in.Continue reading "Police Warn of Home Invasion Burglaries in Columbia Heights"
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