WASHINGTON — DC Police are still looking for the person they said shot a good Samaritan who tried to help stop a crime in progress. The suspect was on a scooter at 14th and S Streets, NW and was actively trying to steal another person's scooter when he shot the man who tried to call police.
WUSA9 returned to Logan Circle Tuesday where people walked past pieces of police tape to get to restaurants and bars. Sarah Dale pulled over to talk about the shooting, but it was her 6-year-old daughter, Ellen, who put the impact of this crime in sharp focus.
“The reason I don’t like it (her neighborhood) is that it’s not the first time this year or this month there's been a shooting, and violence is not safe,” said the first- grader who attends Garrison Elementary School just two blocks from the scene. “It's scary because we could literally, anyone can literally be walking there and get shot out of nowhere!”
Around 7:30 p.m. Monday, police said a man on a scooter shot another man in the stomach who was trying to stop the first man from stealing another person's scooter. Police released images of surveillance cameras showing the suspects, who appear to be two young men, getting away.
"We live just a block away, we come to this area all the time, our school is a couple blocks away on S street,” Ellen’s mom, Sarah Dale, said. "A lot of families from our school come to this area around that time with kids.”
Police patrolling on foot stopped by restaurants Tuesday to talk to owners about the shooting. Those business owners did not want to talk on camera, but told WUSA9 they’re angry with District leaders, including the mayor, for not doing enough to stop the brazen violence.
“I don't think it’s fair to just put it on the mayor -- I think this is a holistic problem that needs to be dealt with from a lot of different angles,” Dale said. “I wish there were a solution. I do not think the solution is to run to a different neighborhood or go to Maryland or Virginia. I think we need to take responsibility for our city."
Dale believes individuals can play a role in making the difference in the city's crime rates.
"I think a lot happens on the hyper local level," she said. 'Engaging with the city, engaging with our ANC (Advisory Neighborhood Commission) -- I think there's a lot we can do to make our neighborhood safer on the citizen level.”