A police officer was shot in Northeast D.C. on Wednesday afternoon after a suspect’s discarded gun went off while he was retrieving it. The officer was flown to a nearby hospital for treatment, according to a spokesman for D.C. Fire and EMS.
It happened in the area of DC-295 and Eastern Avenue in the Kenilworth neighborhood around 5:40 p.m.
The officer, whose identity has not been made public but was noted as a 25-year veteran of the force, was flown via helicopter to the emergency room at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Bloomingdale.
MPD Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said at a news conference Wednesday evening that the officer was shot while retrieving a firearm that was discarded down a storm drain by a suspect his unit was chasing before.
The officer was struck at least once in the upper body and was transported to a hospital where he is now receiving care. His current condition is unknown.
“This is a very tragic circumstance. Out heart goes out to the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department who go out here, day in and day out, and put their lives on the line,” Carroll said.
Members of D.C. police’s Violent Crime Suppression unit were in the 4500 block of Quarles Street NE around 5:40 p.m. when they witnessed a suspicious vehicle and a man exiting it. Police approached the man who then fled toward the roadway of DC-295 southbound and discarded a weapon down a storm drain.
The man jumped from the service road, then got on the back of a motorcycle and was able to outrun police. The suspect is described as a man with long dreads, last seen wearing a white shirt and light blue shorts, according to Carroll.
“While preliminary information indicates that the gunshot was the result of a tragic accident, this is a horrible reminder of the dangers our officers face every day,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a post on X.
Rush hour delays
“There are dozens of police cruisers and light bars,” with lots of rubbernecking causing most of the significant traffic delays as of 6:30 p.m., WTOP Traffic reporter Dave Dildine said.
DC-295/Kenilworth Avenue is currently closed at Eastern Avenue. From Maryland, drivers on Route 50 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway cannot access DC-295.
The northbound lanes of DC-295 are open with traffic moving slowly, but the Service Road is blocked by the police activity, as of 7:30 p.m.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is assisting D.C. police with the ongoing investigation, they said in a post on X. The agency will “process the firearm once it’s recovered,” Carroll said.
WTOP has a reporter on the way to the scene.
Below is the area where the incident occurred:
Police are asking anyone with information in this case to contact them at (202) 727-9099.
This story is developing. Stay with WTOP for the latest.
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