Nine people, including two children, were injured in a “targeted” drive-by shooting early Wednesday that unfolded during a Fourth of July celebration in the nation’s capital.
The victims, which included a 9-year-old and 17-year-old, sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting just before 1 a.m., Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons said.
Authorities are searching for a dark SUV that had been driving down Meade Street when someone inside it began shooting, Parsons said in a video statement on Twitter.
“As it drove through the street, it stopped and it fired shots in the direction of some of our residents that were outside just celebrating the Fourth of July,” Parsons said.
“It appears that the shooting was targeted toward those residents and victims that were struck,” he added.
Police responded to the shooting, which took place not far from the Maryland state line, just before 1 a.m., Parsons said.
Several victims were taken to area hospitals by first responders, while others went to the hospital on their own, Parsons said.
It’s unclear if all nine victims sustained gunshot wounds.
