On Saturday, a sunny warm day during the long holiday weekend, a D.C. police officer heard gunshots coming from near 7th and Longfellow St., NW, in Brightwood Park. Upon arriving at the scene, just after 7:30 p.m., the officer found six people suffering gunshot wounds. Three people were pronounced dead, while three others were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The incident fits most definitions of a mass shooting, and follows another in March where five people were shot and two were killed in a single shooting in Congress Heights.

Police identified the victims as 31-year-old Donnetta Dyson, of NE D.C., 24-year-old Keenan Braxton, of NW D.C., and 37-year-old Johnny Joyner, of NE D.C.

Dyson worked as an operating room patient services assistant at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, according to a social media post by the hospital. “Donnetta had a kind heart, and worked tirelessly serving our patients and the community with grace and dedication. We send our heartfelt condolences and prayers to Donnetta’s family, friends and colleagues,” reads the post.

Officers recovered two firearms from the scene, according to a police report, including an unlisted “ghost gun.” Police are looking for a black Honda Accord sedan that they have identified as the suspects’ vehicle, and are offering a $75,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

“We’ve been talking about gun violence for a long time,” said Robert Contee III, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, speaking to reporters at the scene. “We know that this issue is not unique to Washington D.C., but I think that it speaks to the overall sickness that we’re seeing in our community — that sickness being gun violence.”

The incident follows a particularly deadly year for the District, after a string of already-deadly years. 2020 had the highest homicide numbers in the city for 15 years (though the numbers remain below the city’s most violent years in the ’90s). 2021 is on track to reach even higher numbers, with a 15% year-over-year increase in killings as of Friday. Including the deaths over the weekend, the District has recorded 146 homicides so far this year.

The shooting occurred one block north of Kennedy St., which has seen many shootings in recent years, often the result of fighting between neighborhood crews.

“My heart is heavy this morning as our community was again devastated by gun violence,” said Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, who represents the area, in a statement on social media. Lewis George said Contee gave her a “comprehensive update” on the shooting, confirming that it involved neighborhood crews, likely retaliation following gun violence earlier in the week.

Lewis George urged inclusion of Kennedy St. in the District’s Building Blocks gun violence prevention program.

“We cannot afford to be reactive to gun violence, then leave our communities to pick up the pieces,” she said. “I grew up on Kennedy Street and will never allow for any degree of gun violence in our community to be tolerated or normalized.”

On Sunday, there were two separate shootings in the 600 block of Morton St. in Park View. Police officers responded to the sound of gunshots around 2 a.m., where they “located a crime scene but no victim,” according to a press release. Shortly after, a man with non-life threatening gunshot wounds checked in to a nearby hospital. Police are looking for a dark-colored Lexus, which they describe as a “vehicle of interest” in the shooting.

A second shooting on Morton occurred around 7 p.m., killing an adult male. Police have not yet released the victim’s name, and a police report is not yet available, according to a police spokesperson. One suspect was taken into custody, according to police.