WASHINGTON — Police are still searching for who is responsible for a deadly shooting in Southeast D.C. over the weekend.
A shooting on Good Hope Road left three people dead and two others injured Saturday evening. The Metropolitan Police Department is offering a reward for information.
Detectives continue to investigate the shooting that happened in the 1600 block of Good Hope Road Southeast on Saturday around 8:22 p.m. When officers arrived, they found two men and one woman had been shot and killed. On Monday, the identities of the three victims were made public.
MPD identified them as 27-year-old Tymea Cook of Southeast D.C., 35-year-old Bernard Hodges of Northeast D.C., and 34-year-old Reginald Gilbert of no fixed address.
"Let me be clear, this gun violence has to stop," said acting Police Chief Pamela Smith from the scene of the shooting on Saturday. "It is incredibly frustrating. We know that someone in the community knows what is happening. Please reach out and provide us with any information that you can in order to ensure our citizens and residents are safe in their communities."
As of Monday, 161 homicides have been reported so far in 2023; that's a 28% increase from this same time in 2022. Violent crime overall is up 37% in the District.
The police department offers a reward of up to $25,000 for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a homicide in D.C.
Neighbors like Towona Scott, who has lived in the area for decades, say they are concerned about the rising violence.
"This is the wild, wild Ward Eight West," she explained, "We gotta do something, we gotta do better."
She's not alone in her concerns. James Black also lives close to Good Hope Road and says he's worried for the children who are growing up in this area.
"I’m very scared for the kids in the neighborhood because kids can be playing and rapid gunfire can just happen," Black said.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.