Crime & Safety

Police Made Gun Possession Arrest Near Georgetown Shooting, Continue to Investigate

MPD Chief Cathy Lanier said she does not believe the shootings were related to Halloween crowds.

After a rash of six shootings in five different incidents in the District last night, police have one person in custody for carrying a pistol without a license near the , but have few other lookouts for suspects in the four other cases.

MPD Chief Cathy Lanier said she does not believe the shootings were related to Halloween crowds, which were much smaller than MPD had anticipated. 

"October is always one of our more challenging months," said Lanier.

Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We want to assure the public that the Metropolitan Police Department is doing everything it can to find the persons responsible for these crimes," said D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray to reporters Tuesday.

"It is especially disturbing that these crimes have involved teenagers."

Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The 17-year-old Georgetown shooting victim, a resident of Southeast D.C., is in critical condition in a local hospital. Lanier was unwilling to comment on whether nor not he was able to speak with police.

The Georgetown case is the only incident where the victim is suffering life-threatening injuries and the only case where police have made an arrest of a possible suspect nearby.

"Following that incident we did have an arrest of an individual carrying a weapon in the area. That person as of right now has been charged with CPWL or carrying a pistol without a license. There’s still a lot to do on that, but we do have that person in custody” said Lanier about the shoooting on the 2800 block of M Street.

Lanier said because of stepped-up patrols in the area, officers were able to pursue the individual on foot and make an arrest "in close proximity" to the Georgetown shooting. The man arrested is 21- years-old. She was unwilling to directly tie the gun arrest to the incident on M Street.

She called the investigation "still very active" at this time. 

Lanier said that in three of the incidents throughout the District, police believe  "that the victim and suspect had some connection or were known to each other in some way."

Gray said the incidents occurred in five out of the seven D.C. police districts, impacting all but the first and third. Georgetown is in the second police district.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.