Suspected DC shooter injures 4, dies by suicide

April 23, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C., Friday, April 22 – At 3:20 PM, a man set up a tripod mounted rifle in his fifth story apartment window and fired 20 rounds into the 2900 block of Van Ness Street NW. Four people were injured, no deaths were reported.

Metropolitan Police responded immediately and found three of the four victims, all of which were treated on site and stabilized The fourth victim eventually came forward to police and was treated and stabilized on site as well.

Police advised students, residents, and pedestrians to shelter in place while they searched the Cleveland Park and Van Ness areas for the shooter.

According to Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee, the suspected DC shooter died by injuries that were self inflicted as police closed in on his location. Contee also said that the shooters victims seemed to be targeted at random.

Thank you @SecretService. We greatly appreciate your partnership and support. #OneTeamOnePurpose https://t.co/AoKXXkZmwt

— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) April 23, 2022

The police chief disclosed that a search of the apartment found six guns including two “long guns” and four pistols. He said that his officers also found “multiple, multiple rounds” of ammunition.

Police announced the death of the DC shooter approximately six hours after the shooting.

After the shooting, but before the suspect was found dead, police said in a conference that they were looking for a “person of interest,” a 23 year old Fairfax man, for questioning.

Assistant chief of the Metropolitan Police, Stuart Emerman said that the Fairfax man became a person of interest “based upon the things we have seen on social media.”

Later that evening, Police Chief Contee said that they were no longer looking for the Fairfax man, but would not release the identify of the deceased suspected DC shooter until they had notified his next of kin. Police also declined to speak on whether or not the deceased suspect was the person of interest from Fairfax.

“Today, evil reared its ugly head in our community,” said the Police chief. “It speaks to the depravity of some of the individuals we have to face in our community. There could’ve been more damage done, more lives lost.”