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Three police officers in Washington, DC were shot as they attempted to serve an arrest warrant for cruelty to animals, authorities said.
The suspect, who has not yet been named, was barricaded in a house in the 5000 block of Hanna Place Southeast near Benning Road, police said at a press conference on Wednesday. Multiple loud gunshots could be heard, captured on neighbours’ home security systems.
Authorities say that around 7.30am the individual “refused to come outside” and as officers “attempted to gain entry, the individual fired upon them.” As of 1pm local time the incident was ongoing.
The three officers who were shot suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to the hospital, while a fourth officer, who was not shot, was also hospitalised. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser later reporters that the three officers would likely be “just fine.”
“But 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 as a community if we see something wrong, we call MPD, because MPD is going to show up for us every single time,” Ms Bowser said.
A Humane Rescue Alliance employee was with police as they tried to serve the warrant but was not hurt during the incident, the group said.
“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,” the group said in a statement
“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.”
It’s unclear how many people are inside the house, police said.“This remains an active situation, and the individual has continued to fire from that location,” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith told reporters.
“We are asking everyone to please stay out of this location until we are able to apprehend the suspect,” the police chief added.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser later reporters that the three officers would likely be ‘just fine’
(Fox5)
Roads were closed and schools were locked down in the southeast part of the city and police warned people to stay far from the area as the shooting unfolded. The situation and investigation are ongoing, with crisis negotiators speaking to the suspect.
Two nearby elementary schools were on lockdown amid the shooting, with eye-witnesses reporting seeing police escorting students into a nearby charter school, per NBC Washington.
The incident comes as the District of Columbia is struggling with a sharp increase in violent crime, which went up 39% in 2023. It was largely fueled by a 35% rise in homicides and growth in carjackings, which nearly doubled.
Chief Smith has previously pushed lawmakers to pass legislation that would strengthen penalties for gun offenses in the nation’s capital.
