Police tape hangs before a crime scene.Photo: Ron Koeberer/Getty Images
A Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C. turned violent early Wednesday morning when nine people — including two minors — were reportedly injured on a residential street.
Police Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons said law enforcement arrived at the scene on the 4700 block of Meade Street, in the northeast part of the city, shortly before 1 a.m. after receiving a report of a shooting.
In a video statement onTwitter, Parsons added that the victims sought treatment across the local area and that their injuries were not fatal.
crime scene tape.Getty Images
Getty Images
CNNreported that two of the victims were aged nine and 17.
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Parsons said the investigation is in its early stages and that police are looking for a dark SUV that was spotted in the area.
“As it drove through the street, it stopped and it fired shots in the direction of some of our residents that were outside just celebrating the Fourth of July,” Parsons added about the suspect vehicle.
“It appears that the shooting was targeted towards those residents and victims that were struck,” he continued.
Washington, D.C.Danita Delimont / Getty Images
The shooting was one of many violent incidents that occurred across the U.S. during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Ten people died and dozens more were injured in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wichita, Kansas, and Fort Worth, Texas,USA Todayreported.
Independence Day has had more mass shootings than any other day of the year in the last decade, averaging five, the outlet added.
According to theGun Violence Archive,there have been at least 350 reported mass shootings this year in the U.S.
In astatementon gun violence on Tuesday, PresidentJoe Bidensaid “Today, Jill and I grieve for those who have lost their lives and, as our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray for the day when our communities will be free from gun violence.”
He continued: “It is within our power to once again ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to require safe storage of guns, to end gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and to enact universal background checks. I urge other states to follow Illinois’ lead, and continue to call upon Republican lawmakers in Congress to come to the table on meaningful, commonsense reforms that the American people support.”
source: people.com
