WASHINGTON — D.C. police are investigating the shooting of a 12-year-old boy in Northeast.
Authorities say the shooting happened around 7 p.m. in the 4400 block of Ponds Street. Officers arrived on scene to find the boy unconscious and unresponsive.
The boy was transported to a local hospital where is in critical but stable condition, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said in a press update.
Newsham said the boy was an innocent bystander who was caught in gunfire outside at the time of the shooting.
Police said multiple rounds were fired and it is believed that multiple firearms were used in the shooting. It is unclear if there was an exchange of gunfire at the time.
Newsham said three children have been shot in the district so far this year. A young girl was shot at a bus stop at Minnesota Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue in Southeast, a 6-year-old was hit by a round while in the backseat of a car in the 2500 block of Alabama Avenue and tonight's 12-year-old victim.
"It’s got to stop," Newsham said.
“In this city we gotta get serious about gun offenses and in my opinion we don’t take gun offenses seriously," said Newsham "I’m gonna continue to echo that until somebody listens.”
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Authorities are still investigating the shooting. No further information was available at this time.
This is a developing story.
