A stray bullet from a moving car struck a high school in northwest Washington, D.C., on Friday, hitting a female student in the head, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said.
Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a distress call from Dunbar High School around 9:54 a.m. and found a 17-year-old girl with “minor abrasions,” the deputy chief said. Leslie Parsons told reporters.. The victim was taken to the hospital and his family was with him.
“She is perfectly fine and is expected to make a full recovery,” he said.
The shots appeared to have occurred during a shootout in the 1200 block of Kirby Street NW, where a wrong-way vehicle entered half the block. Parsons said several bullets entered the school through a glass window. The neighborhood is approximately 0.2 miles from the school.
“The motive remains unclear,” Parsons added.
There were people at the scene of the shootout, and Parsons asked them to volunteer with information about the shootout. Detectives will remain in the area and investigate the incident.
“We are still in the preliminary stages of this investigation,” Parsons added.
It is believed that there have been criminal incidents in the area where the gunfight occurred in the past.
“This district has come a long way…I think our police officers are doing a good job of trying to work with the community because our police officers are always in this area and always visible. ” Parsons said.
The school was on lockdown at the time of the press conference. (Related: Video shows scuffle at school that allegedly led to shooting outside and left five people injured)
Chief Smith and Assistant Chief Parsons provide an update on this morning’s shooting near Dunbar High School. pic.twitter.com/NxoQNEqHMX
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) May 3, 2024
“Even though our students are on lockdown, we want everyone to know that they are safe and that they are safe,” Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters.
Mr Parsons added that the lockdown would be short-lived and schools would dismiss early.
However, the school system opted to keep school open with all after-school activities indoors, but allowed parents who wanted to get their kids home early for the day to do so, The Washington Post said. the paper stated. report. The school reportedly provided mental health support to the student.
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser reportedly visited the school.
Resident Kelly Burgott told The Washington Post that she had just returned home from walking her dog when she heard “loud, continuous automatic gunfire” and that she “could have been shot.”
The 65-year-old pastor of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church, H. Lionel Edmonds, who was near the scene of the shootout, said crime in the neighborhood was “an emergency.” It should be seen as a crisis. ”
Washington, D.C. itself is suffering from an increase in crime.
