Police in Washington, D.C. are still negotiating with a barricaded suspect who opened fire and injured three officers during an attempted arrest Wednesday morning.
Officers with the Criminal Apprehension Unit were executing a Humane Rescue Alliance arrest warrant for cruelty to animals at a residence around 7:30 a.m. when the suspect opened fire, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters at the scene.
Three officers were shot and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while a fourth was also injured but was not shot, Smith explained.
The subject — who has not been named publicly — remains barricaded inside the residence and is still occasionally shooting at police in the area, the police chief said.
Three officers were shot in DC on Wednesday morning. WJLA
The first call reporting an officer in need of assistance came through at 8:06 a.m., according to police. WRC-TVNegotiations with the subject were still ongoing as of shortly before 2 p.m., Smith told reporters in her second update of the day.
“Sometimes he’s up, sometimes he’s down,” she said of the individual.
Officials did not know the suspect was armed, and do not know if anyone else is in the home, Smith told reporters.
“This is a very active and fluid scene,” she explained.
Several nearby roads were closed and two elementary schools were locked down as the negotiations continued, NBC 4 reported.
“I was hearing police go by … I had no idea it was right here [near the school],” one parent told the news channel.
“It’s not a surprise in the area, there’s a lot of crime in the area,” local Courtney Sample added.
The KIPP DC school near the scene had an early dismissal at 2 p.m., with police coordinating pickup efforts for parents and buses, Smith said Wednesday afternoon.
The first call reporting an officer in need of assistance came through at 8:06 a.m., a spokesperson for the DC Metropolitan Police told The Post.
The three officers who were shot were receiving treatment in the emergency room at Medstar Washington, DC police union chairman Greggory Pemberton told NBC 4.
Authorities were executing an arrest warrant at a home when the suspect opened fire, according to reports. WJLA
A fourth officer was also wounded but was not shot, according to NBC 4. WJLA
Shortly before 10 a.m., the subject remained barricaded in the residence and continued to shoot at police, the outlet said. WJLAOne of the officers was struck twice, and the bullets were absorbed by his ballistic armor, Pemberton explained.
The other two cops were shot in the “lower extremities,” he said.
A Humane Rescue Alliance employee was with police when the shooting occurred but was not hurt, NBC 4 reported.
“Our thoughts are with our partners at MPD who are being treated in the hospital and we are wishing them all the best in their recovery. We could not fulfill our mission without them,” the group said in a statement.
“We are also concerned for the safety of the officers who remain on scene, the community members who continue to be affected, and the animals whom we were there to protect,” they added.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed it was on the scene assisting authorities.
