WASHINGTON D.C., DC — More violence and young lives changed in a matter of minutes in D.C. Two teenage boys were shot in Northwest on Monday, less than a half-hour apart and one mile away from each other.
Just after 11:30 a.m., DC police said a 15-year-old boy and an adult man were also shot in the 1300 block of Columbia Road, NW. Twenty minutes earlier, a young man was shot next to a Park View Recreation Center on Otis Place, NW.
According to WUSA9’s reporting, this makes the third shooting outside of a rec center in just two weeks. It is important to note, the city’s recreation centers were closed to observe Indigenous People’s Day on Monday so there were no activities or children inside the facility. Eyewitnesses told WUSA9 that the young man was shot on the street outside the rec, ran to the building for help, and collapsed on the empty playground.
The sound of gunshots shattered the silence on this holiday. Earl Davis said the young man who was shot is his mentee. The 10th-grade high school student who Davis described as a “good kid.”
“You want to be safe when you enter or go around any recreational facilities, said Davis. “I received numerous phone calls about one of the young men from my group that was hit multiple times. But thank God, he’s going to survive his injuries.”
Just 20 minutes later, a 15-year-old was shot less than a mile away in the 1300 block of Columbia Rd, NW. Relatives told WUSA9 that a handyman was driving his van up the block when he was shot in the side, according to a family member. His vehicle was riddled with bullets. Police said he and the teenager are expected to survive. But the violence is triggering.
“It upsets me and brings back memories about my son who got killed,” said Davis.
Davis lost his son Brian to a shooting on Halloween night in 2016. He was not the target. Now Davis runs an anti-violence program called Chicken and Waffles in honor of his son’s favorite meal. He said if community members continue to be outraged without outreach, we risk losing a whole generation to both sides of the gun.
“I recommend anyone who has young people out here on the streets, parents, mentors, friends… let’s reach out to these young men,” said Davis. “even if you take one young man under your wing you can save his life because right now it seems like were’ going backward and not forward.”