WASHINGTON — Two children are recovering from being shot, as are six adults — all wounded during Independence Day celebrations in Southeast D.C.
And while none of the victims was killed, D.C.’s homicide rate is far above where it was this time last year, and investigators are working to quell the gunfire.
It was just after the national fireworks show ended when, according to a D.C. police report, an 11-year-old girl reported she was hit in the face by “an unknown object” in the 1100 block of 46th Place Southeast.
Responding officers concluded her injuries were consistent with gunshot wounds and rushed her to the hospital.
In an alley where she was playing, investigators found 37 gun shell casings, one for each bullet fired.
Farther north, a boy was struck and injured by a bullet on 48th Street Northeast.
Of the adults wounded, one man was shot while walking with two others (who were also injured). That man is in grave condition Thursday evening, following a night that faded into a morning of violence.
According to city statistics, violent crime as a whole is down 7 percent from last year, but the homicide rate is up 41 percent.
