One man was killed and five others injured in a mass shooting Monday night in Northeast Washington.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the survivors’ physical injuries are not life-threatening, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department told DCist/WAMU, though they could not confirm whether the survivors are still at the area hospitals they were taken to Monday.
The man killed was 24-year old Lance Melvin of Southeast D.C., according to a MPD press release.
Police Chief Robert J. Contee III told reporters at a press conference Monday night that police were in “very preliminary stages of investigation” and that they do not know who was responsible.
“We have no idea why the shots were fired at this point,” he said. “We’re really looking to the community at this point for information related to what happened here and why this occurred.”
Police responded to the shooting at around 8:30 p.m. Monday, Contee said. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services also responded to the scene and found that Melvin had “no signs consistent with life.” He was taken to the Chief Medical Examiner.
The shooting took place at 1500 F St NE outside the Azeeze Bates apartment complex, amid a “large group of people.” Contee said it is unclear whether the people present knew each other.
A spokesperson on Tuesday said there were no additional updates following last night’s press conference.
Monday’s shooting brings up the District’s homicide total to 127 according to MPD data, an 11% increase from this time last year.
“I’m tired. I’m angered and upset, angered at the fact that residents had to experience this in their communities,” Contee said on Monday. “The residents didn’t deserve this.”
He added that he was “saddened” because the shooting occurred despite “all the investments” the city has made in violence interruption and law enforcement. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who campaigned on a tough-on-crime approach in the recent primary elections, has expressed her commitment to increasing police funding. Her fiscal 2023 year budget, approved in May, allocates $30 million for hiring, recruiting, and retaining police officers, with the ultimate goal of stabilizing MPD at 3,500 officers and eventually growing it to 4,000 by the end of the decade. Bowser has also invested in violence interruption efforts, often with lawmakers directing additional funding to those programs.
Sarah Y. Kim