Crime & Justice

2 dead, 3 wounded in shooting in Washington DC

Washington, Aug 24 (EFE).- Two people were killed and three others wounded in a shooting in northwest Washington DC on Wednesday, and police said that the incident occurred in a zone known for being “an open-air drug market.”

The five victims, all adults, were standing at the door of a residence for the elderly but it is not yet known if they lived there or were simply passing by.

Preliminary information provided by law enforcement officials indicates that two attackers fired a total of seven shots. The shooters arrived at the scene in a black SUV and got out of the vehicle momentarily to open fire on the victims.

The site of the attack is near an elementary school, where classes began on Wednesday, although very few students were on hand.

The school was locked down immediately after the shooting but reopened shortly thereafter.

“It was time (for school to let out) when we heard the shots. We ran out like crazy people, the parents, because we were waiting for our kids. The school shut down. We couldn’t enter and they couldn’t leave,” Salvadoran Cristela Abrego told EFE, adding “It’s chaos, it’s horrible, because it’s happening very regularly.”

So far this year, according to the Washington DC Metropolitan Police, there have been 136 murders in the District of Columbia, 4 percent more than in 2021. Attacks with “dangerous weapons” have dropped by 11 percent to 907 so far this year but reported robberies have increased by 17 percent to 1,373.

EFE mgr-aaca/bpm/ag/bp

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