WASHINGTON — A man and teen boy were injured Friday in an officer-involved shooting in the 300 block of Anacostia Road, Southeast.
A man and a teen boy were shot and transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Commander of the Sixth District Durriyyah Habeebullah said that around 6:42 p.m. an off-duty police officer, who was working part-time in full uniform, came across a group of men, one of whom was armed with a gun.
"Fearing for his safety, the officer discharged his department issued firearm," an MPD press release said. "An adult male and a teenage male were both struck by gunfire and were taken to local hospitals for treatment of non-life threatening injuries."
Police said both shot are in stable condition. The officer involved in the shooting wasn't injured and police said he is being interviewed.
Officials said there weren't other shots fired aside from the officer's and no other weapon was recovered.
Police said they are still investigating what led to the shooting. The off-duty officer has been placed on administrative leave, pursuant to MPD policy.
Violence has been on an uptick across the city. On Thursday, three teens were shot in Northeast in two separate shootings happening within 15 minutes of each other.
In October, 22 violent crimes occurred within a 1,500-foot radius of the 1300 block of Columbia Road Northwest -- the most violent one-month period in that area in the last three years.
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In the past, Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham has blamed the uptick in violence on the abundance of illegal guns on the District's streets. Echoing Newsham's statements, Habeebullah cited illegal firearms as a concern for the MPD, when asked about increased violence in the city.
"One of the things we try to do is capture those persons carrying illegal firearms," Habeebullah said. "You can't have a shooting without a firearm. That's one of the biggest problems we have."