3 police officers shot, suspect dead in Northeast DC shooting

3 police officers shot, suspect dead in Northeast DC shooting
A suspect is dead after three police officers were wounded in a shooting in Northeast D.C. Monday morning.

The shooting happened on Florida Avenue near the NoMa-Gallaudet U Metro station, according to D.C. police.

On Tuesday morning, D.C. police said two of the three officers recovering after being transported to hospitals on Monday have since been released.

Police identified the deceased suspect on Tuesday morning as Derrick Williams, 45, of Northeast.

Police officers responded to a report of a man with a gun in the lobby of an apartment building in the 300 block of Florida Avenue in Northeast around 4:38 a.m., D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said during a news conference on Monday.

She said when the officers first arrived to the building lobby, they “made contact” with the suspect, later identified as Williams, before he fled into an elevator. Additional police officers went to the scene in a search for him.

Smith said “a few minutes later” the suspect exited an elevator, encountering police officers in the lobby. When officers tried to take the Williams into custody, he produced a firearm.

“During the struggle the suspect fired, discharged, his gun at the officers and the officers returned fire, striking the suspect,” Smith said.

Williams was pronounced dead at the scene, after “other officers attempted to provide lifesaving measures.”

Police said a handgun used by Williams was recovered on the scene.

In a statement on Tuesday, D.C. police said agents from its Force Investigation Team, which is part of its Internal Affairs Bureau are investigating, what it called, “an officer-involved shooting.”

Smith said that and an investigation by the department’s Criminal Investigations Division will be independently reviewed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The three officers who were shot have been placed on routine administrative leave.

“This is yet another reminder of the daily dangers that we face every day in our city and across the U.S. I’m very grateful that our officers were able to get through this particular incident without any further injuries,” Smith said Monday.

The D.C. Police Union said the officers were shot while responding to a burglary in progress.

“We can confirm that all three officers have suffered non-life-threatening injuries and will likely be released within the next 24 hours. We want to extend our gratitude to the doctors and nurses for their incredible care,” said Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton on Monday.

In a statement, the union called on D.C. leaders to address what it called “dangerously low staffing levels,” that lead to “risks associated with an overburdened force.”

But David Franco with Level 2 Development, which developed and co-owns the i5 Union Market apartment building, told WTOP in an email Monday night that the officers were not responding to a burglary:

“The incident involved a military veteran, who lived in the building, and may have suffered a mental health issue.” 

A map of the area is below.

Area of shooting
(Courtesy Google Maps)

WTOP’s Ivy Lyons contributed to this report. 

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Matt Small

Matt joined WTOP News at the start of 2020, after contributing to Washington’s top news outlet as an Associated Press journalist for nearly 18 years.

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