DC Police Officer Fatally Shoots Man in Southeast
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A police officer fatally shot a man in Southeast Washington, DC on Wednesday, according to police.
The man was pronounced dead after being taken to a local hospital, Police Chief Peter Newsham said at a briefing.
Police had responded to the area to follow up on a report of guns in a vehicle, Newsham said. When they approached the vehicle, people inside the vehicle fled on foot, he said.
Police recovered two firearms at the scene. Newsham said it had not yet been determined if the man was armed.
He said officials have yet to confirm the identity of the man who was fatally shot, but that “information suggests it’s an adult.” A person at the briefing was heard claiming the victim was 17-years-old and unarmed, The Hill reported.
DC Councilmember Trayon White (D) said the victims’ mother told him her son was a “kid” and lives about two blocks away from where the shooting happened, according to NBC 4 Washington.
Asked why the officer fired a gun, Newsham would not say, adding that he would be “speculating” and it would be “improper" to address at that time.
The shooting occurred around 4 p.m. in the 200 block of Orange Street SE, according to police.
Community members gathered to protest the shooting and were heading towards the police department's 7th District headquarters on Alabama Avenue SE, the NBC-affiliate reported.
Police said Alabama Avenue SE is closed between Knox Place and 24th Street SE, according to the outlet.
