Four shot in Washington, DC after gunman unloads several magazines (Update: Suspect found dead)

This happened in the Van Ness neighborhood of northwest Washington, DC. Police responded to calls about shots being fired and found three people [correction it was four people] had been shot, two adults and one child. It appears all three victims are in stable condition at local hospitals but the two adults are still in critical condition.

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Police and federal agents swarmed into a northwest Washington neighborhood on Friday after at least three people were shot in a flurry of gunfire. City officials warned people to stay inside because of an “active threat” as dozens of officers in tactical gear searched for the suspect.

The law enforcement officers responded to the scene near Connecticut Avenue and Van Ness St. in the Van Ness neighborhood of Washington shortly before 3:30 p.m. The incident is just down the road from Howard University Law School…

The Metropolitan Police Department is warning people who live in the nearby neighborhoods of Cleveland Park and Van Ness to shelter in place. Assistant Police Chief Stuart Emerman said the victims included two men, who were in stable condition, and a juvenile female who suffered from a “minor gunshot wound.”

Police gave an update a short time ago (as I write this) and basically said they don’t know much yet. They don’t know who is responsible or even have a description of the shooter. They don’t know if the victims were targeted and of course they don’t have a motive.

There are a couple of videos which are already making the rounds, one of which was mentioned in that briefing above. Let’s start with this one which appears to be audio of a barrage of shots going off in the neighborhood.

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That appears to match what an eyewitness from Howard Univ. Law School saw and heard. Scroll 8 minutes into this clip. “Coming down the street we heard so many shots go off,” she said. After a pause there was another round of at least 20 shots. Finally there was a third round of shots and she said everyone just froze because they didn’t know where to go for safety.

Finally, I think this is the video that the police said they had seen but not yet verified. It appears to show shots being fired from the shooter’s POV, almost like a video game. But according to this it came from 4chan, so take that for what it’s worth.

I will note that the images seen in that video appear to match this still image of the area from NBC 4:

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Here’s another eyewitness interview. This guy also says he heard at least 40 shots, one magazine being unloaded after another.

That’s all I have for now. Police just don’t seem to know what happened here yet. It has only been a few hours so maybe as the night progresses and they interview more witnesses they’ll have more to go on.

Update: Police say the gunman has been found dead of apparent suicide in his apartment.

In a news conference Friday night, DC Police Chief Robert Contee said police believe the alleged shooter died by suicide while officers were entering a fifth-floor apartment where he had set up a “sniper-type setup” with a tripod. Six firearms, including several long guns, and multiple rounds of ammunition, were found inside the apartment. Contee noted that some of the guns may have been obtained legally.

The police chief declined to identify the suspect, pending notification to the family, but said that the police had stopped looking for a person of interest previously identified as 23-year-old Raymond Spencer of Fairfax.

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Here’s a photo:

Here’s video of the police announcement. The police chief said the video above appears to be authentic. He doesn’t know if it was livestreamed or uploaded after the incident.

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John Stossel 8:30 AM | December 22, 2024
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