WASHINGTON — A 9-year-old girl was shot in Southeast DC Monday afternoon around 5 p.m., according to DC Police Chief Peter Newsham.
The girl was shot near the intersection of 18th and T Streets Southeast when she was walking with a family member. She has been taken to a hospital with non-life threatning injuries, according to DC Police.
Newsham said in his news conference after the shooting that he believes the girl was hit by a stray bullet and was not the attended target of the person(s) who shot her.
Police are asking the public to be on the lookout for a black Infinity with tinted windows that was seen leaving the scene of the crime. Chief Newsham believes this car might have been the target.
Multiple streets in the area have been closed to traffic due to DC Police's investigation.
DC officials have not released any further information on the shooting. If anyone has any information related to the shooting, contact police at 202-727-9099.
The shooting of this girl comes less than two weeks after 15-month-old Carmelo Duncan was killed in Southeast during a traffic shooting on Dec. 2.
On Dec. 11 a baby was found in the backseat of a car where a man had been shot to death, and the night before, a 12-year-old boy was shot in the face in Northwest DC.
“Something needs to be done," a neighbor of the 12-year-old boy who declined to give WUSA9 her name said. "We can’t continue to live around here and be fearful for our lives.:
Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie said homicides are up 21% this year over last year, calling gun violence in D.C. an "epidemic."
“We really do want change,” Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Delia Houseal, of ANC 7E, said after the killing of Carmelo Duncan. “We know what the problems are. Now we want solutions.”
This is a developing story. WUSA9 will continue to provide updates on this story as more information comes into our newsroom and station.
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