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A suspect is in custody Wednesday night after police said he shot and wounded three D.C. officers who were attempting to serve an arrest warrant and then holed up inside his home.
The standoff lasted around 13 hours and started when police approached the house on Hanna Place in Southeast D.C. around 7:30 a.m.
Police said 46-year-old Julius James, of Southeast, refused to come outside, then shot at officers through the door as they tried to enter his home.
The shooting sparked a massive police presence in the area, closing down several nearby streets and forcing some nearby schools into lockdowns.
How the barricade began
D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said officers went to the residence to serve an arrest warrant on animal cruelty charges to James on behalf of the Humane Rescue Alliance around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday when James began shooting at them through the door.
“This morning, our officers attempted to make contact with the individual inside the residence in order to execute the arrest warrant,” Smith said. “The individual refused to come outside. As officers attempted to gain entry, the individual fired upon them.”
Three officers who were shot were taken to the hospital. A fourth officer was treated at the scene for minor injuries, Smith said. All four officers are in stable condition and expected to recover.
James is charged with animal cruelty and charges related to the shooting and barricade are pending, according to police.
Up and down negotiations, gunfire
The suspect seemed to be alone in the home and police negotiators were in “constant communication” with the shooter, though the conversations had ups and downs, the police chief said.
“There were moments when he was very agitated and then there were moments where he was very positive,” Smith said.
As negotiations drew on, James continued to fire gunshots intermittently from the home throughout the day, police said.
“There have been periods of time throughout the day where he has been shooting, which is why we have ensured that we do not want anyone in that area,” Smith said during an evening news conference before James was taken into custody late Wednesday night.
How wounded officers are doing
One officer was struck by gunfire twice, but the rounds were stopped by a bulletproof vest, said Gregg Pemberton, chairman of the Washington, D.C., police union. Two more officers were struck in their lower legs. The fourth officer suffered hand injuries at the scene, he said.
“Our officers are in good spirits, they seem to be doing OK,” Smith said during the earlier news conference after visiting the officers in the hospital.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also visited the injured officers.
“It goes to show you how important it is to support our police, to make sure we’re hiring the best of the best police, to make sure that as a community, that if we see something wrong, that we call MPD because MPD is going to show up for us every single time,” Bowser said during an event for Valentine’s Day.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden is praying that the officers make full recoveries.
“This shooting is yet another distressing and painful reminder of the toll gun violence is inflicting on families, on our communities and, obviously, on our nation,” Jean-Pierre said at a news conference.
Biden also called on Republicans in Congress to act to “to make sure that communities are safer.”
The Humane Rescue Alliance told WTOP that its field services director Dan D’Eramo, who was on scene, was not injured. HRA wrote in a statement:
“As this dynamic situation unfolds, our thoughts are with our partners at MPD who are being treated in the hospital and we are wishing them all the best in their recovery. We could not fulfill our mission without them. We are also concerned for the safety of the officers who remain on scene, the community members who continue to be affected, and the animals whom we were there to protect.”
Neither police nor HRA have offered details about the alleged animal cruelty that prompted the arrest warrant.
Closed roads, school lockdowns
Police said Benning Road in Southeast D.C. was closed both ways between Southern Avenue and East Capital Street for police activity. G Street was also closed between 46th and 51st Street.
The 700 block of 51st Street between Hanna Place and H Street was closed. And the 5000 to 5100 blocks of Hanna Place were also shut down.
Listen to WTOP Traffic for the latest on the closures.
On Wednesday morning, WTOP’s John Domen reported from the scene that the road closures around the shooting were “basically paralyzing the entire Marshall Heights area of Southeast D.C.” as police negotiated with the suspect.
“There is just a massive emergency presence here, to the likes that I haven’t seen in a long time here,” Domen said.
D.C. Fire and EMS were also at the scene of the shooting to assist police.
Public schools in the area locked down within an hour of the initial shots being fired, including Garfield Elementary School and Plummer Elementary School. KIPP DC LEAP Academy dismissed students from class early.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Editor’s Note: WTOP News has a partnership with the Humane Rescue Alliance.
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