Deadly afternoon shooting near DC elementary school leaves community on edge

WASHINGTON - A man was shot and killed Monday afternoon in Southeast D.C. — just a few feet away from an elementary school. 

Marquelle Jones, a behavior technician at Hendley Elementary School, told FOX 5: "It’s frustrating because at the end of the day, we just want the kids to be safe here." 

But protecting children can be difficult for Jones when gunshots are going off near their classrooms. 

"With the situation today, it was in the middle of dismissal, so we are all just focused on trying to get everybody inside and just making sure the kids are good," Jones recalled. 

When school leaders were informed by D.C. police that there was a shooting just up the street, the school went on lockdown. 

On 4th Street near the intersection of Chesapeake Street, police are investigating what led to the deadly shooting of a man at a housing complex. 

Mr. Jones said these shootings are becoming way too common for his students. 

"We hear the kids talk about it within each other," Jones said. "Sometimes, they will be like ‘Oh did you hear the shooting last night? My mom had me hide under the couch. My mom had me hiding under the table.'"  

The behavior technician says that's an environment children shouldn’t have to live in. 

"I work here because the kids here are wonderful," he said. "We have some of the best kids in the city, regardless of what goes on outside of this building, inside this building they are regular kids." 

Police have not yet made any arrests in this case. The victim has been identified as 35-year-old Rodney Snead of District Heights, Maryland. 

Recent data from the Metropolitan Police Department shows there have been 247 homicides so far in 2023 — the highest total in nearly two decades.