WASHINGTON — As the sun was beginning to set in the Trinidad neighborhood in Northeast, D.C. on Friday, neighbors only saw the flash of blue and red lights after a teenager was shot.
D.C. Police say the shooting happened near Mt. Olivet and Capitol Ave NE.
Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie said the teen who was shot is a student at KIPP DC College Preparatory, just steps away from where the shooting happened and where a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death four months ago.
“We have a 17-year-old who is fighting for his life,” McDuffie said. “It's a public health emergency and we need to address it as such. And bring all the resources that government has to bear to end the violence that we're seeing.”
KIPP DC College Preparatory sent a letter to parents Monday regarding the shooting.
"This is incredibly upsetting news and we will wrap our arms around our students, staff and our whole school community as we process this traumatic news," the letter reads. "Since we received word of the incident, we have been in close touch with MPD and are waiting to hear more information from them."
School officials said it is still unclear how the victim is doing at this time.
So far this year, there have been 205 homicides in the district, a 10% increase from 2020. McDuffie said it’s time for all city and faith leaders to treat gun violence like the public health crisis it is.
“We also need resources from other agencies," he said. "To play a part, we need to flood communities with opportunity, because in many cases to see same communities where we're seeing gun violence, that have really a lack of hope, what they want all the resources to flow to these communities to keep people safe to keep our young people safe."
At this time, no suspects or motive have been given in this case. If you have information that can help, you’re asked to call 202-727-9099.
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