Nine individuals, including two juveniles, have sustained injuries in a mass shooting that occurred in Washington, D.C., according to local authorities. The incident took place amid Independence Day celebrations across the United States, and as of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.
Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons of the Metropolitan Police Department provided details of the incident in a video statement on Twitter. Police responded to a report of a shooting on Meade Street in the northeastern quadrant of Washington, D.C., shortly before 1 a.m. (06:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
Upon arrival at the scene, law enforcement discovered multiple victims who had been struck by gunfire, Assistant Chief Parsons explained. Fortunately, all the victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Among them are two juveniles, one nine years old and the other 17 years old.
The shooting was described as “targeted” by Assistant Chief Parsons, who stated that a dark-coloured SUV passed through the neighbourhood and someone from the vehicle opened fire on the victims who were outside celebrating the July 4 holiday.
The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) transported several victims to local hospitals, while others made their own way for medical treatment. At this time, the identity of the victims has not been disclosed.
It remains unclear whether there were multiple shooters inside the vehicle. This incident adds to a series of mass shootings that have occurred over the violent holiday weekend.
Before Independence Day, mass shootings in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; and Fort Worth, Texas resulted in ten deaths and 38 injuries. In Fort Worth, three people were killed and eight were wounded in a late-night shooting following a local festival to commemorate the holiday, as reported by the police on Tuesday.
In Philadelphia, five individuals were killed and two, including a two-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy, were injured when a suspect wearing body armour and armed with an automatic rifle randomly opened fire on strangers, according to local police.
The United States continues to grapple with mass shootings and incidents of gun violence. According to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive, there have been over 340 mass shootings in the country so far in 2023. The prevalence of such incidents highlights the ongoing challenges faced in addressing gun violence within the nation.
