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Two D.C. police officers shot and wounded in Northeast D.C.

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February 24, 2017 at 1:15 p.m. EST
Social video shows a portion of a shooting on the night of Feb. 23 in Northeast Washington that left two D.C. police officers wounded and a suspect dead. (Video: Twitter @black5883)

Two D.C. police officers were wounded by gunfire and a suspect was killed Thursday night in a confrontation in the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast Washington, police officials said.

Police believed the two officers, both men who were shot in their lower bodies, would survive their injuries. But an adult man whom police described as a gunman was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The shooting happened in the area of Holbrook and Morse streets NE at about 10:40 p.m., police said.

The two officers, who were in uniform when they were shot, were in the neighborhood as part of the police department’s response to an earlier report of shots fired on Thursday afternoon, Interim D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said. A bystander at the scene captured part of the incident on video and posted it on Twitter.

Police are trying to determine what led to the shooting, and it was unclear what transpired, including whether there was any exchange of gunfire. “Our two best witnesses are at the hospital right now,” Newsham said, referring to the two wounded officers, whom several police officials said were transported to the hospital in a police cruiser.

Newsham and Mayor Muriel Bowser went to the hospital where the officers were being treated.

“We believe their injuries are non-life-threatening, which we’re thankful for,” said Newsham, who has served as interim police chief since Cathy L. Lanier left the job in September and was appointed to the position permanently by Bowser earlier in the day Thursday.

Newsham spoke at a press conference near the scene of the shooting Thursday night alongside Bowser and Ward 5 Council Member Kenyan R. McDuffie.

“These brave men and women are working hard, but we need to better support our officers in the community,” McDuffie said. “This gun violence is a scourge on our community. It is a scourge on the city. We need action.”

McDuffie said he had been in the area of Trinidad on Wednesday night, listening to residents' concerns about crime. He returned Thursday afternoon, after the sound of gunshots was reported there, and then once more on Thursday night.

Newsham said that police found a weapon at the scene of the shooting that they believe was used by the deceased suspect. Investigators appeared to be examining a sprawling crime scene, cordoning off several blocks on the eastern side of Trinidad.

A woman in the 1400 block of Morse Street said she heard the shots — “eight, maybe 10.” She added, “Everybody in the world came running.”