Gunfire broke out Thursday in an area of Washington, DC known for its restaurants, injuring two men, one of whom may have been a bystander, police said.
The shooting at around 8:20 p.m. on 14th Street NW and Riggs Street NW caused the guests to flee.
Metropolitan Police Department chief Robert Contee called the violence “unacceptable” and said the shooting occurred in a crowded area.
“I think that really speaks to the audacity of some criminals we see in our community,” Contee told reporters at the scene.
The shooting broke out the same day the Justice Department announced it was using “strike forces” to trade arms in five cities and regions, including Washington, DC.
The two people shot on Thursday suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were recovering in hospitals, police said.
It was believed that one person was the target and the other was possibly an innocent bystander, Contee said. Police released a video showing two people in hooded sweaters running to a parked black limousine. The authorities identified them as suspects.
The area where the shooting took place is known for its restaurants and is full of customers, NBC Washington reported.
A woman at a nearby restaurant told the broadcaster she heard between 10 and 15 shots and everyone on the terrace ran in. “I just went down,” she said.
A police officer was holding a warning tape near the location of a shooting in a busy street Thursday night in Washington, DC, when gunfire broke out on a busy street, two injured and others escaped to safety.Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
On Friday night, a 6-year-old girl was killed when six people were shot and the next night fans of a Nationals baseball game panicked after three people were shot outside the stadium.
“I’m outraged, the chief is outraged and the community should be outraged,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser.
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