D.C. police are asking the public for help in their investigation of a fatal stabbing early this morning in the 1900 block of 9th St NW. more ›

UPDATE 5:19 p.m. WMATA spokesperson Ron Holzer now says that this report isn't totally accurate. Holzer says that the two operators were "taken out of service" for routine drug and alcohol testing, which is standard procedure after an incident of this magnitude. The employees were apparently never suspended or put on leave, according to Holzer, despite what the transit agency told the Washington Post earlier today. more ›

Sad news from the Associated Press (via WaPo). Vladimir Djordjevic, the former manager of the Good Guys strip club in Glover Park, has died. Regular readers will recall the scary incident in November of 2007, when assailant Vasile Graure returned to Good Guys with a can of gasoline after having been kicked out of the club, and proceeded to set Djordjevic on fire. Graure was convicted of arson and assault a year later, and was eventually sentenced to 30 years in prison. Djordjevic, meanwhile, remained in the hospital, going through dozens of surgeries as doctors attempted to help him recover from the burns he had suffered to 90 percent of his body. He passed away on Monday, according to the AP. Graure could now face additional murder charges. more ›

A third suspect has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of Shaw Middle School principal Brian Betts. Montgomery County Police say they took Deontra Q. Gray, 18, of the of the 1300 block of Southview Drive in Oxon Hill, into custody on Tuesday and charged him first degree murder, one count of armed robbery, and one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Two other 18-year-olds, Sharif Tau Lancaster and Alante Saunders, were charged Monday with murder, robbery and gun charges. Betts was found shot dead in his Silver Spring home an on April 16. Police believe the three young men met Betts after speaking with him on a phone sex chat line, and then showed up to rob him. more ›

A family spokesperson has confirmed that the woman who died in a pedestrian crash at First and M Streets SE on Thursday was Amy Polk, 42, of Takoma Park, Md. more ›

A pedestrian was fatally struck this morning near the intersection of First and M streets SE, not far from the entrance to the Navy Yard Metro station. more ›

The Post is now reporting that Montgomery County police chief J.T. Manger, while still waiting for the results of an autopsy, believes that the death of Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson principal Brian Betts was a homicide. He went on to say that the preliminary investigation leads him to believe it was most likely not a random killing. more ›

Martin mentioned it briefly in the roundup already, but we're saddened to hear about the death of Brian Betts, 42, who was the principal of Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson. Betts was found dead in his Silver Spring home Thursday night by a co-worker, who had gone to check on him after he failed to show up for work that day. more ›

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association has just posted some photos to its Facebook page of a white "ghost bike" placed at the corner of 12th Street and New York Ave. NW in honor of Constance Holden, who was killed Monday evening after a collision with a D.C. National Guard truck. more ›

The Metropolitan Police Department has identified the cyclist who was struck and killed in a collision with a D.C. National Guard truck at 12th Street and New York Ave. NW Monday evening. Constance Holden, 68, was officially pronounced dead on the scene and later transported to the D.C. Medical Examiner's Office. more ›

The 1200 block of New York Ave. NW is closed at this hour, following what appears to have been a fatal collision between a cyclist and a security vehicle associated with the Nuclear Security Summit. more ›

D.C. police have arrested a third suspect in the Feb. 3 killing of Carlos Alexander. Alexander, 47, was found dead lying on a sidewalk early that morning in 700 block of 21st Street NE. Police had previously arrested Daquan Johnson, 19, and a 16-year-old male, both of D.C., for the crime, and now a third suspect, a 16-year-old male whose name has not been released, has also been arrested in the case. The third suspect was taken into custody on Saturday, police said. The D.C. Medical Examiner's office ruled that Alexander's death was a homicide, and that he died due to complications resulting from blunt force injuries.
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An elderly man believed to have been confined to his bed died in a house fire in the 5200 block of East Capitol Street SE early this morning. D.C. Fire/EMS crews responding to the call at about 5:30 a.m. encountered heavy fire conditions originating from the basement of a two-story duplex unit at 5213 East Capitol Street SE, according to department spokesperson Pete Piringer. Three residents from the other unit were able to escape unharmed, and one of them tried to assist the man who was trapped in the basement, but was unable to reach him due to excessive heat and smoke from the fire, Piringer said. The man, an 88-year-old male whose identity has not yet been released, was pronounced dead on the scene. The fire, which is believed to be the result of an accident, is estimated to have caused between $200-$250K worth of damage. The family living in the other unit has been displaced by the damage. more ›

Ray Browne, a one-time D.C. Council candidate and former three-term Shadow Representative, passed away over the weekend. He was 71. Browne was a D.C. native, having grown up in the Trinidad neighborhood. He also owned his own insurance company, The Browne Company. Prior to serving as Shadow Rep., Browne was an ANC Commissioner, and an active member in the local Democratic Party. He's survived by his wife, Barbara, who lives in Ward 4. Our deepest sympathies go out to the Browne family.
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Our thoughts are with the family, friends, staff and colleagues of Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who passed away today at Virginia Hospital Center after suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. He was 77. more ›

WJLA/ABC7 is reporting that the teenager who was found shot and killed in the 800 block of Barnaby Street SE last night was the brother of Calvin Woodland, who is currently serving as chief-of-staff to Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham. The 18-year-old victim, whose name is also Calvin Woodland, was reportedly shot seven times, according to his brother. more ›

Metro says that normal service has resumed on the Red Line, as of 12:18 p.m., now that officials have completed the preliminary phase of their investigation into this morning's fatal accident. Be sure to let us know how your Red Line trips actually are for the rest of the day, especially this evening during rush hour. Add a comment here, email tips@dcist.com, or tweet to @DCist_Updates. We'll continue to monitor and update on conditions on the Red Line as the investigation continues. more ›

The head of the union that represents most Metro workers has identified the two men who were struck and killed this morning by a piece of heavy track equipment. ATU Local 689 president Jackie Jeter said their names were Jeffrey Garrard and Sung Oh, and that both men were longtime employees of Metro. more ›

A man has died after a struggle with Arlington County Police officers during which he was subdued with a stun gun, officials said today. The incident took place around 8 p.m. on Sunday night inside the Pentagon City Metro station. Police say an officer stunned the man, who was a larceny suspect, after he assaulted the officer who was trying to take him into custody. The man was then transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name has not yet been released pending notification of his family. Police say an investigation is ongoing. more ›

One of the National Zoo's female lions, Lusaka, died Thursday evening, zoo officials said Friday. In a statement, the Zoo described Lusaka as "elderly," and noted that her health had been in decline for several months while she recovered from having a large, cancerous tumor removed from her back. more ›

Just breaking now from the Associated Press (via NPR): James Von Brunn, the white supremacist who shot and killed security guard Stephen Johns at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in June, has died. more ›

Another fatal train collision to report, this time an Amtrak Northeast Regional that struck and killed a 14-year-old Maryland girl as she was walking to school, the AP is reporting (via WTOP). The accident took place at around 9 a.m. in Baltimore County, but is creating delays all up and down the Northeast corridor as police investigate. AlertDC reported earlier that only one out of four railroad tracks in D.C. and Maryland is currently cleared for service, and at reduced speed at that. Union Station is only now beginning to release northbound trains, and significant delays are likely to continue well into the afternoon. more ›

A 50-year-old woman was struck by a Red Line train at the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan station at about 11:30 p.m. on Monday night, WMATA reports, and died later this morning from her injuries. The preliminary investigation indicates that the woman intentionally placed herself in the path of the train. One witness writes in to tips@dcist.com to share that the evacuation of the Shady Grove-bound train in question was orderly and swift. "Granted it was late at night, but it seemed like, sadly, Metro knows the drill at this point all too well, and so they were able to respond to the situation pretty swiftly," the tipster writes.
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WMATA is reporting that the 48-year-old man who was struck by a Red Line train on Sunday morning has succumbed to his injuries. Metro Transit Police continue to investigate the death, but the preliminary findings indicate that the man fell onto the tracks by accident as the train pulled into the Gallery Place station. The Washington Post additionally reported on Wednesday that the man, who has not yet been publicly identified, was blind. more ›

Just when we had all been hearing that the swine flu had peaked, the Post reports today that Maryland and Virginia are both starting to report drug-resistant cases of H1N1. Two Virginia residents have been treated for Tamiflu-resistant swine flu, as have two patients at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. And buried at the bottom of this story: D.C. has now confirmed its very first swine flu-related death. "The patient was an adult male with a preexisting condition, Health Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson said." more ›

A pedestrian was struck and killed by a motorist near the intersection of New York and New Jersey Avenues NW this afternoon, the Post is reporting. more ›

Two adult arapaima fish have died in the Amazonia exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, zoo officials said Monday. A third fish that also appears sick is being closely monitored, while a fourth has been started on antibiotics preemptively. more ›

The man who was arrested and charged in the Nov. 14 killing of 9-year-old Oscar Fuentes has been found dead inside his cell in the D.C. Jail, according to a report from WTTG/FOX5. Josue Pena, 26, had been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Fuentes, who died after being shot through the door of his Columbia Heights apartment. The Washington Post reported earlier that paramedics had been called to the jail for a call of an unconscious inmate this afternoon. WTTG says Pena was found hanged inside his cell just after 1 p.m. He was pronounced dead later at Howard University Hospital, with the cause of death determined to be cardiac arrest by asphyxiation. The report also includes these details:

Pena told prosecutors he had a gun in his waist band, but it accidently went off as he walked up the stairs. more ›

A man was struck and killed by a Franconia-Springfield-bound Blue line train at the McPherson Square station at around 8:35 p.m. this evening, according to Metro spokesperson Angela Gates. No details are yet available on the identity of the victim. The station is currently closed while police investigate. WMATA has established shuttle bus service between Farragut West and Federal Triangle. Preliminary reports indicate witnesses saw the man place himself on the tracks intentionally. We'll update when we have more details. (UPDATED at 9:27 p.m.) Metro says the McPherson Square station is expected to be open for regular service on Tuesday morning. (UPDATED again at 11:07 p.m.) more ›

Two Prince William County teens who were found dead in a Triangle, Va. home on Monday died as the result of a suicide pact, the Post is reporting. Police say they may never know what prompted to Desiree Patrick, 17, and Quirinius Williams, 18, to kill themselves together, but these comments from Williams' stepfather, Ruben Aguilar, are fairly haunting:

Aguilar said he had never met Patrick but had received a phone call from her father about a year ago about the relationship. After that conversation, Aguilar said, "we made sure to tell them to stay away from each other." From all appearances, Williams complied. more ›