Police in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON – A dispute that erupted in gunfire during a large open-air party in Washington, DC, killed one person early Sunday and injured some 20 others, including an off-duty officer “fighting for her life,” according to police.
Christopher Brown, 17, died in the shooting that happened after midnight in a southeastern suburb where people had gathered for music and food, Peter Newsham, the head of the Metropolitan Police Department, told reporters.
“There was some kind of dispute,” Newsham said. “Multiple weapons were produced.”
Police said at least three shooters may have been involved, although no arrests were announced immediately. Newsham said a motive for the shooting was not clear.
Fellow officers took the injured off-duty officer to a local hospital.
“She’s struggling at the moment for her life,” he said. He added that “the rest of the cannon wounds, as far as we know, are not life-threatening.”
Nelson Bostic, a resident of the area, told WTOP he heard a burst of rapid-fire gunfire, and then saw “people lying on the ground” and “diving under cars.”
“It was awful,” he said.
Siblings of the murdered teenager described him as someone who was full of energy and smiled quickly. He also had a 1-year-old son.
“A lot of people know him as just a good person,” his mother, Artecka Brown, told WUSA9. “That was an innocent life taken for no reason.”
There could have been hundreds of attendees at the party despite city restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic at such large gatherings.
“We can not tolerate these kinds of meetings in our city during COVID-19,” Newsham said. “It’s just too dangerous.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke to reporters near the shooting scene, noting that public drinking and marijuana use outside were prohibited, as meetings of more than 50 people were held as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus.
“It is very important that we as a community have a zero tolerance for this activity,” she said. Bowser admitted that police have to make some “difficult decisions” and “break up these events.”
The meeting was advertised on floors as the “34th-n-EAT” cookout that would begin late on Saturday, The Washington Post reported. It would, the floor added, be a “drama-free event.”
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