WASHINGTON: Three police officers were shot in Washington and a fourth suffered minor injuries while trying to make an animal cruelty arrest Wednesday morning.
The three officers suffered gunshot wounds in the hand and foot, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said. They were being treated at area hospitals, per the Metropolitan Police Department. The fourth officer was hurt at the scene, but not shot.
The shooter remained barricaded inside a home in the southeast part of the city and continued firing shots hours after opening fire on police, a police spokeswoman said.
Officers were attempting to make an arrest on an animal cruelty warrant, but the suspect refused to leave the home, police said. As officers tried to get inside, a person opened fire.
“This remains an active situation and the individual has continued to fire from that location,” Smith said.
Crisis negotiators were speaking to the suspect, Smith said as she pushed lawmakers to pass legislation that would strengthen penalties for gun offenses in the nation’s capital.
The police union confirmed three of its members had been shot. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the person firing at officers was the subject of the arrest warrant officers were serving.
Roads were closed and schools were locked down in the southeast part of the city and police warned people to stay far from the area as the shooting unfolded.
The incident comes as the District of Columbia is struggling with a sharp increase in violent crime, which went up 39% in 2023. It was largely fueled by a 35% rise in homicides and growth in carjackings, which nearly doubled.
“This shooting is yet another distressing and painful reminder of the toll gun violence is inflicting on families, on our communities and, obviously, on our nation,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. She said President Joe Biden is praying the officers make full recoveries and called for more congressional action on guns.
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