Twelve people, including five juveniles, were shot in six separate shootings over just a 24 hour period in Washington, D.C., according to a local news outlet.
WUSA 9 reporter Jess Arnold shared news of the shootings on Twitter, alongside an article about a shooting in Northwest D.C. that left one person dead and three others injured on Tuesday evening. An eight-year-old boy was among the injured.
By our count, 12 people have now been shot in 6 separate shootings in the last 24 hours in #DC…including 5 kids.
Tragic start to the new year. @wusa9 https://t.co/EUQMYieUBh
— Jess Arnold (@JessArnoldTV) January 4, 2023
The victims were standing around a car on Georgia Avenue when two suspects emerged from an SUV stopped in traffic and opened fire on the victims, D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee said during a press conference on Tuesday night. The three men appear to have been targeted, though the motive remains unknown, police said.
The child, who does not appear to be connected to any of the three victims, was on a sidewalk nearby when he was hit by gunfire in the leg. A man grabbed the boy and took cover into a nearby store, where the man realized the child had been shot.
“We don’t know what the motive is, no idea why someone would do such a reckless act at 6 o’clock p.m. on Georgia Ave.,” Contee said. “But we aim to find out.”
Police believe there are two shooters and a driver who were involved in the shooting.
The shooting came one day after several other D.C. shootings on Monday evening, when eight people, including three teenagers, were injured and a 17-year-old boy was killed, according to WUSA.
The first shooting occurred just before 1:15 p.m. on Monday. A teenage boy was shot by a suspect who fired from a car. The victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment. He is expected to survive, according to the report.
Police responded to another shooting in Northwest D.C. around 4:30 p.m. that left one man injured, and a third shooting near Third Street and Alabama Avenue Southeast around 5 p.m. that left two men and a teenage boy injured.
Another shooting was reported less than an hour later, less than four miles away. A man was shot multiple times. He was transported to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition.