6-year-old girl killed, 5 others injured in DC shooting

A 6-year-old girl was killed and five adults injured in a shooting late Friday night in Washington, D.C., with possible suspects still at large, according to police. 

D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Executive Assistant Chief Ashan Benedict said in a video posted on Twitter that the shooting occurred shortly after 11 p.m. in the southeastern part of the nation’s capital. 

Benedict said police heard the sound of gunfire and arrived at the scene as a crowd of people also hurried to the area. 

The assistant chief said that when they arrived at the site of the shooting, they found a total of six victims. 

The 6-year-old was rushed to a local hospital where she was later pronounced dead, Benedict said. 

Three adult men and two women were also injured in the attack, though the police official said the injuries were believed to be non-life threatening. 

**reposted w/o audio interference** 7.17.21 Executive Assistant Chief Benedict provides on-scene briefing of shooting incident at 2900 block of MLK Ave SE pic.twitter.com/NAfwOF1IqV

— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) July 17, 2021

Benedict did not provide any details about possible suspects in the case, but urged the public to contact the department with any information they might have on those potentially involved. 

The assistant police chief said “our thoughts and prayers and condolences go out to the family” of the girl killed in the attack, as well as the other victims, adding that Friday’s shooting was just part of a larger concerning trend of violence in the city. 

“There’s too much gun violence still perpetuated in this city and too many children are being harmed, innocent children, by gunfire,” Benedict said. 

“So, please, help the police department and our detectives bring those people to justice and help bring some closure to the families,” he added. 

The Hill has reached out to MPD for any updates on the investigation. 

There have been 211 homicides recorded in the D.C. area so far this year, with a large portion recorded in the city’s southeast, according to data compiled by The Washington Post. 

MPD recorded a 19 percent increase in the number of homicides in 2020 compared to the previous year, with 166 reported in 2019 and 198 in 2020.