D.C. police on Wednesday were investigating two officer-involved shootings that occurred within hours of each other on Christmas Eve.
Officers fatally shot a man suspected in a robbery at around 4:30 p.m. in the 2800 block of Erie Street in Southeast after the man reportedly pulled a gun on police who were pursuing him. The second shooting about an hour and a half later involved “an armed suspect who fired at officers,” Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said.
Details of the second shooting, which was reported near the 2200 block of 16th Street in Northeast around 6 p.m., were still emerging Wednesday night. Investigators said the incident may have stemmed from the carjacking of a FedEx van reported in the area at about 5:25 p.m.
Officer Hugh Carew, a police spokesman, said first responders reported the shooting victim was conscious and breathing at the scene. Police union Chairman Delroy Burton said five officers were involved in the incident, but it was unclear how many fired their guns.
The earlier shooting occurred in Southeast and involved four officers, though not all may have fired, Mr. Burton said.
The officers were following a suspect in a robbery that had just occurred and cornered him in the 2800 block of Erie Street Southeast, Mr. Burton said.
“He pulled out a gun and they shot him,” he said.
Ms. Crump initially said the suspect was taken to a hospital with injuries after the shooting, and police officials later confirmed the man died.
Police had not released the man’s name on Wednesday.
D.C. police have released information on the department’s website detailing four other officer-involved shootings this year. Three of those four shootings were fatal.
The last shooting occurred in October, and involved D.C. police and U.S. Marshals Service officers. A 35-year-old man, Michael Abney, was killed when officers attempted to serve a warrant and he pulled out a handgun and refused orders to drop it, according to police accounts.
In a September incident that was not fatal, an officer fired at a man who attempted to ram the officer with a car.
Isaac Little, 33, was killed by an MPD officer in April when he refused to put down a gun he was holding.
In March, police shot and killed a 19-year-old homicide suspect as they attempted to take him into custody. The police department said at the time that Daquan Hendrix opened fire on members of the Capital Area Region Fugitive Task Force as they attempted to serve an arrest warrant. Hendrix was wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Tykia Dickerson in February.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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