Good morning, Washington. Late yesterday we published a short post attempting to clear up the rumors that a number of people had been robbed as they exited the Target in Columbia Heights on Monday. A police inspector had written a note to a 3rd District email list explaining that no one had been robbed, and rather that a number of Target employees had been caught stealing from the store, resulting in a call to the police. Well according to the City Paper, the same inspector, Edward Delgado, is now saying he was wrong about the thieving employees, and regrets sending the 3rd District email. “Nothing happened at the Target store,” he told Jason Cherkis. Apparently Delgado had gotten some bad information from another officer and repeated it without verifying it. He also said he has not seen any evidence of a spike in crime around the new Target.

Five-Alarm Fire at Mt. Pleasant Apartment Building: There were seemingly dozens of fire trucks and emergency vehicles parked along 16th Street NW just below Mt. Pleasant Street at around 1 a.m. last night, with good reason. What eventually became a five-alarm fire at an apartment building at 3145 Mount Pleasant St. NW broke out overnight, displacing roughly 200 people from their homes. The Meridian Hill Baptist Church in the 3100 block of 16th Street NW was also damaged. 16th Street is an absolute mess this morning traffic-wise, with partial street closures and circling news helicopters contributing to the chaos. Word from NBC4 is that the apartment building appears to be a total loss. The Post says one firefighter has been reported injured.

Still No Lease for D.C. United With less than a week until D.C. United’s first home game of 2008, the team has still not reached a new lease agreement with RFK Stadium, the Examiner reports. If a new deal isn’t reached by next week, the team will continue playing at RFK on a month-to-month basis.

Briefly Noted: Man dies after shooting on the steps of an elementary school … Former Mayor Anthony Williams bought a condo on H Street after a lifetime of renting … Violent crime is down in Alexandria … Tri-Community Public Charter School set to relinquish its charter.

This Day in DCist: In 2007 we shouldn’t have been surprised to see Marion Barry evade jail time yet again, and in 2006 we wondered if rock throwers in Columbia Heights had switched to bricks.

Photo by brandonwu