More safety concerns arise after 7 teens shot in DC
WASHINGTON - Seven teenagers have been shot and injured across D.C. over the last two days.
Police said they believe these are separate incidents and no arrests have been made.
On Monday, police responded to Warder Street and Otis Place Northwest where they said two juveniles were shot just after 11 a.m.
Soon after, there was more gunfire.
"Approximately 20 minutes later, at 11:40, my officers here at 14th and Columbia heard rapid gunfire coming from right behind me in the 1300 block of Columbia Road," D.C. Commander James Boteler said.
Boteler mentioned in that case in NW, a boy was shot in the leg, and they later found a man shot in the stomach. Officers also discovered a BMW stolen in a recent carjacking with a gun inside that police said preliminarily looks like an assault rifle.
The shootings Monday came a day after four teens were shot in three separate incidents Sunday afternoon.
A woman who only wanted to be identified as "Wendy" said she heard the shots that injured a teen in the parking lot of her apartment building in the 2600 block of Birney Place Southeast. She says she ducked for cover.
"I was fearing for my life. After the gunfire was over, I looked outside and noticed that my truck was shot up," Wendy said.
She shared photos of her truck that show a single bullet ricocheted through the vehicle, hitting the side mirrors, breaking a window and hitting her radio.
DC police chief addresses recent string of violence: 'Enough is enough'
The recent gunshots came less than three months after a spray of bullets were fired into the apartment she shares with her teen son. That shooting happened in the same area on Birney Place in July — injuring a pregnant woman. Police said at the time that nearly 100 rounds were fired.
"It’s stressful because when I leave out early in the morning, I have to peek out to make sure that I feel that it’s safe for me to get in my vehicle to go to work. Bills still have to get paid," Wendy said.
She says now she’s figuring out how to pay those bills and the unexpected deductible for her car insurance.
"I’m going to move on, and I’m gonna pray on it and just hope everything gets better," she said. "And everybody needs to spend more time with their kids and watch your kids. Talk to them. Find out what’s going on in their brains. Give them something else that’s a positive thing to do."
Police released images of cars linked to the two shootings Monday as well as pictures of suspects in the Birney Place shooting from Sunday.