Covering Forest Hills, Van Ness, North Cleveland Park and Wakefield

What we know so far about the Van Ness DC shootings

A police helicopter leaving Van Ness after the April 22 shootings. (photo by Diane Krauthamer via Twitter)

It happened quickly – dozens of shots fired in rapid succession shortly before 4 p.m. on Friday, April 22nd. Reports came in of two, three, then four people wounded in and around Edmund Burke School, including a 12-year-old child. Hours passed with area residents, students, and Van Ness workers told to shelter in place until police gave the all-clear.

While police say they believe the deceased 23-year-old suspect, Raymond Spencer, acted alone, there’s still a lot investigators don’t know – including why.

Here is some of what we do know, based on news conferences and reporting since Friday:

At a news conference Monday, MPD Police Chief Robert Contee said Spencer fired more than 200 rounds toward Edmund Burke School. Investigators found 800 unspent rounds in his apartment at AVA Van Ness, 1,000 rounds more at another apartment he rented in Fairfax, and firearms or firearms parts at both locations. (WAMU/DCist)

His motives were still unknown. MPD had not found evidence connecting him to Burke.

As of Monday evening, two of the four people shot remained hospitalized in critical condition. (Washington Post)

Burke School students sheltering inside tried to comfort and calm one another. (Washington Post) UDC, Howard University Law School and Hearst Elementary were also locked down for several hours.

Local businesses took care of some of the students who had fled the school but could not leave the lockdown area. Van Ness Wines and Liquors was among those sheltering Burke students. (ABC7).

Medium Rare delivered food to Burke families at the Cleveland Park Library, which served as a reunification center.

Burke School was closed Monday for a “day of recovery.” (WUSA9)

A young woman who lived next door to the suspected shooter at AVA Van Ness said she did not know him. But she had ties with a violent incident in the neighborhood on Wednesday. Her boyfriend was the 19-year-old shot and killed by Secret Service police outside the Peruvian ambassadors’ residence on the 3000 block of Garrison Street NW. (Fox 5)

ANC 3F, which hosted a public meeting Monday evening with MPD’s Second District commander, announced the launch of public safety task force and other “next steps.”

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Comments

  1. Your next to last link in the original post is to WUSA channel 9’s story on Monday (April 25) night’s public meeting. These paragraphs appear near the end of channel 9’s story:

    “Some people at the meeting said they were frustrated with the District’s housing voucher program, which they claim has done a poor job of screening the participants it relocates.

    “Cheh said there are some people in the program who have a history of severe mental illness.

    ” ‘These folks need clinical help,’ she said. ‘Not just social workers and we need some way to get a grip on what’s happening in these units.’

    “But, ANC 3F Chair Claudette David noted law-abiding citizens in the program are still welcome in the neighborhood and that crime cannot be directly correlated to the program.

    “Still, she asked for what many other D.C. neighborhoods have asked for recently. David said she wants more police in the area and more services to help people suffering from mental illness or who may have other needs.

    ” ‘We do know that there’s no structure right now, it doesn’t exist, for the caseworkers, for the building managers, police officers,’ she said. ‘We don’t know if caseworkers know if someone called the police on one of their clients.’ ” [snip]

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