WASHINGTON — D.C. police are searching for two men and a woman suspected in a shooting inside an H Street restaurant last month, and they have released surveillance video that shows the chaotic moment the shots were fired.
The shooting happened inside the Quara Ethiopian Restaurant on H Street shortly after midnight on Jan. 27. According to the police report, the shooting started after an argument broke out, and a man pulled out a handgun and shot another man several times.
The video, which can be viewed on D.C. police’s Twitter account, depicts the shooting and its aftermath during which the man who was shot was also kicked and assaulted with a bar stool by the gunman and another man. Some viewers may find the video disturbing.
“It’s an absolutely horrible offense, which is why we have that video out there,” Commander Leslie Parsons, with the D.C. police department’s criminal investigations division, during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “We’re asking the community to come forward and assist us in identifying these suspects.”
The man who was shot was taken to the hospital but survived the shooting and is still recovering from his injuries. Police said they are investigating the incident as an assault with intent to kill.
The surveillance video released by police shows a crowd of people in the bar area of the restaurant, apparently trying to break up a fight, when a man wearing a hoodie and what appears to be a light-colored stocking cap pulls out a gun and begins firing.
The video, part of which is in black and white, shows at least five muzzle flashes from his gun.
Another camera angle shows the man who was shot on the floor clutching his leg as the suspected gunman then appears to stomp on him. Another man is seen slamming a bar stool over top of the man who was shot.
The final frame of the video, which is in color, shows a woman with red-colored braids retrieving the gun used in the shooting from the restaurant’s blood-spattered floor, police said.
Parsons said police are still probing a motive for the shooting.
“We know that there some sort of dispute that had taken place inside the establishment but everything is still under investigation,” the commander said.
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting or three suspects to call D.C. police at 202-727-9099 or anonymously text a tip to 50411.
As with all shootings in D.C., police are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for anyone who can provide information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
