WASHINGTON — A man is in custody after police say he shot three DC Police officers who were trying to serve a warrant in Southeast D.C. Julius Jones, 46, was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. He surrendered after barricading himself in his home on Hanna Place Southeast for 13 hours.
DC Police say their officers, who have not been identified, were shot while assisting the Humane Rescue Alliance.
"The suspect did shoot through the door," said Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith.
The shooting was first reported around 7:30 a.m. Levon Davis Jr. lives next door to James and said he saw the chaotic scene for himself.
"I saw a few cops laying on the ground, one cop's been shot and bleeding. He was in excruciating pain. After that I kept hearing shots fired again and again," Davis said.
James barricaded himself in his home in the 5000 block of Hanna Place and continued to periodically fire off shots for hours as police negotiated his peaceful surrender. Police told people in the neighborhood to stay in their homes and avoid the area while negotiations were underway, but Davis jumped out his window to get to work.
Other neighbors had to evacuate. Angela Valentine drove down from Baltimore to take her three grandchildren to safety.
"Craziness, chaos and confusion," Valentine said, describing the scene Wednesday.
Davis said he is still stunned his neighbor prompted the dangerous standoff.
"I'd see him at night coming home from the store. 'Hey, buddy, how you doin'? Hey, man. What's going on?' It was pleasant," Davis said of his interactions with James. "There's never been any confrontation."
According to police, the Humane Rescue Alliance recovered 30 dogs from James' home.
"There was a lot of barking going on at night and stuff like that, off and on, but that was just normal dogs," Davis said.
James was taken into custody around 8:30 p.m. In addition to the animal cruelty charge, police expect to file other charges.
Three officers remain in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds. A fourth was injured while serving the warrant, but not shot. All four officers are expected to recover.
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