WASHINGTON — Two women were shot in Northwest D.C. early Saturday morning while riding in an Uber.
The shooting happened around 12:40 a.m. in the 3300 block of Georgia Avenue, Northwest – near Morton Street, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
Police said they responded to the area and found evidence of a shooting but no victims. A short time after, police said two women were located at a local hospital.
The victims, both women in their early 20s, told WUSA9 they were just leaving a concert when they hopped in an Uber to meet up with the band. The car was on Georgia Avenue at Morton Street, Northwest when the shots were fired. One victim said a single bullet pierced the car door, tore through her leg, and hit her friend’s leg.
The young woman, who did not want to share her name, is home recovering and her wound tightly wrapped under her pants.
“Once I felt like someone put a match or a lighter to my leg like it was burning then immediately knew,” she recalled, “and I definitely knew after my friend started yelling.”
She quickly dialed 911 and told the Uber driver to head to the hospital.
“I was telling the operator the street numbers and she told me to hold on to my friends wound.
According to the police report, another woman on foot said someone inside a gray or silver heavy tinted Hyundai Elantra was shooting in her direction too. Her car parked nearby was hit. Police are not sure if nearby cameras captured the drive by but are still investigating.
In the meantime, the graduate student said this incident only strengthens her resolve to continue her studies in criminology. She said she knows she was not the target of this shooting, and that gives her peace of mind.
“It seems most DC gun violence people are young, and they don’t think about other people, and I have to think through it at that lens they’re not thinking of me or that car driving by they’re just shooting because they’re trying to scare someone, or someone disrespected them so that’s how I’m not angry," she said.
“It pushes me further to work in my field because now I can use this experience and help other people," she said. "I know we want to get angry at each other like I’m sure some people feel victimized and want to take it out on somebody and vice versa, but to some extent talking and compromising can help. I'm not saying it would solve all issues but I think it will lead us to a better outcome than we have now.”
Uber confirmed Saturday that it was their driver behind the wheel. The company praised the driver, who was uninjured, for his quick action.
"The senseless act of violence is sickening and we hope the injured riders recover quickly," an Uber spokesperson told WUSA9. "We commend the driver for his quick action in getting help for the victims and are grateful he is uninjured."
According to a police report, one of the victims said she heard what she thought was gunfire while sitting at an intersection. She told police she felt a warm feeling on her leg and realized she had been shot.
No suspect information has been released.
A D.C. teacher died in California hours after police stunned him several times with a taser.
Keenan Anderson, 31, of D.C., died on Jan. 3, according to Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore. He said Anderson passed away in a hospital a few hours after multiple LAPD officers tried to take him into custody at the site of a traffic accident.