Chris Lange, FISM News
An unidentified gunman opened fire on five people at a Washington D.C. hotel overnight, killing one woman and injuring four others. The incident occurred around 3:00 a.m. (EST) Thursday at a Days Inn in the 4400 block of Connecticut Avenue in the city’s Northwest quadrant.
SHOOTING/4400 block of CONNECTICUT AVE NW/NO LOOKOUT/5269
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) January 27, 2022
A D.C. Fox News affiliate reported that officers arrived on scene to discover one female shot in a hallway and another shot in a nearby room. Both were transported to a local hospital. D.C. Metro Police Dept. officials initially pronounced one of the women dead but later updated their report to indicate that she was in “grave” condition. A short time later, they announced that she had succumbed to her injuries.
9:18 AM Update: The female victim in grave condition has been pronounced deceased. More details to follow.
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) January 27, 2022
Three other victims transported themselves to the hospital with undisclosed injuries. D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officials identified four of the victims as female. The gender of the fifth victim has not been made available.
Streets surrounding the hotel remained closed as police continue to investigate.
Washington D.C. is one of several major U.S. cities that have been rocked by soaring incidents of violent crime over the past two years. Homicides in major American cities increased 5% between 2020 and 2021 and 44% over 2019, according to a crime trend analysis report released Tuesday by The Council on Criminal Justice.
December polling by Rasmussen shows that 89% of American voters are concerned about the problem of violent crime in America, 64% of whom say they’re “very concerned.”
The Biden administration has largely ignored the topic of skyrocketing crime in the nation’s major cities but appears this week to be taking initial steps to address the subject. The President is expected to visit New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) today to discuss gun violence. He is also likely to talk to Adams about the White House’s “comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime,” which includes sending federal aid to cities affected by crime “to put more cops on the beat and invest in community violence prevention and intervention programs” and “stepped up federal law enforcement efforts against illegal gun traffickers,” according to the administration’s travel advisory, as reported by The Guardian. No mention has been made so far as to how the administration plans to address rapes, stabbings, robberies, and other violent crimes plaguing major cities across the nation.
Biden’s trip to the Big Apple comes in the wake of a spate of recent homicides in the city, including Friday’s fatal shooting of two police officers in Harlem. Adams on Monday unveiled his Blueprint to End Gun Violence focused on curbing illegal gun sales.