D.C. police are looking for information that could lead to arrests in a pair of deadly shootings at Fourth of July celebrations in the nation’s capital.
The shootings occurred at gatherings in Northwest Washington about two miles apart just west of the North Capitol Street corridor. Investigators have no evidence that the attacks were related.
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“We’re trying to reach out to the public to get information to close these cases and get these guys off the street,” said Cmdr. George Kucik.
The first incident happened about 8 p.m. Wednesday on the 5000 block of First Street NW. Three gunmen walked up and opened fire on a group of young people enjoying the holiday, Kucik said. Four people were shot, one fatally.
Killed was 19-year-old Crevontai Key, of Northeast Washington.
A 15-year-old boy who was grazed by a bullet and a 17-year-old boy were taken to the hospital in serious condition, police said. A 21-year-old man was taken to a hospital by a family member and has been released, police said.
The second shooting happened at an early-morning cookout on the 600 block of Morton Street NW, Kucik said. About 2:20 a.m. Thursday, a dark-colored vehicle pulled up to the party and someone opened fire. Thirty-five-year-old Julius Barnett Ellington, of Northwest Washington, was shot in the face and died. A second victim was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Police were looking for two males.
Though there appeared to be multiple people at both shootings, police had very little information to release about the descriptions of the culprits, Kucik said.
For the District of Columbia, it was the second holiday in nine months spoiled by violence.
Halloween night turned bloody with a half-dozen shootings across the city. Five teenagers were among six people shot that night, including a 17-year-old boy shot in the head during a street party in Georgetown.
According to police, there have been 45 homicides this year, marking a 21 percent decrease from this same time last year, when there were 57 killings.
Examiner Staff Writer Naomi Jagoda contributed to this report.
