Two people are dead and three more were injured after a shooting in northwest Washington, D.C, according to police. Those injured are currently being transported to a hospital for treatment.
Witnesses told police that a small, black SUV turned onto O Street NW before two people left the vehicle and began shooting at people standing or sitting on chairs, Executive Assistant Police Chief Ashan Benedict confirmed in a livestream posted to the D.C. Police Twitter account.
Benedict said the O Street NW area where the shooting took place appears to be an open-air drug market where police make multiple arrests for narcotics violations.
“Unfortunately, it escalated to the point where five people were shot today. It’s unacceptable,” he said.
He said in the livestream that police arrived within a minute after the report of the shooting came in at approximately 12:49 p.m. A preliminary investigation indicates that at least two people fired semi-automatic weapons at the victims. None of the victims reportedly shot back.
MPD is currently responding to a shooting in the unit block of O Street, NW. Multiple victims have been shot. Please avoid the area.
Media staging for the on-scene briefing is in the block.
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) August 24, 2022
D.C. Police Traffic tweeted at about 1:30 p.m. that there are road closures at 1st Street NW between O and P streets. The 1300 block of North Capital Street is also blocked off.
The account also released a photo of a vehicle involved in the shooting, but the make and model are unclear.
?HAVE YOU SEEN THIS VEHICLE??
MPD is seeking assistance in locating this suspect vehicle in connection to the shooting that just occurred in the unit block of O Street, NW.
Have info? Call (202) 727-9099/text 50411 pic.twitter.com/1srKmPEIS8
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) August 24, 2022
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
