Two DC children shot while getting off Metrobus
Rachel Schilke
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Two Washington, D.C., children were shot while getting off the Metrobus on Wednesday afternoon.
The children, ages 6 and 9, were found conscious near 14th Street and Sheridan Street, according to Metro Transit Police. They were taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
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The incident started when a group of people, between four to six young men, began assaulting a passenger on a 54 Metrobus traveling north on 14th Street NW.
The assault moved onto the street, and one member of the group fired a gun, shooting a boy and a girl who appeared to be coming home from school as they were getting off.
Police did not specify what age corresponded to which child.
Another male adult was shot, as well, and ran to a nearby apartment building. He was also taken to the hospital after police arrived at the apartment to administer aid.
The intended target did not appear to have been shot, D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee said during a media briefing on Wednesday night.
“This is unacceptable. These are two of our kids that were shot … as they got off of a bus, and that’s very disturbing for me,” Contee said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, who was also at the media briefing, said 6-year-old children should be playing with friends and coloring in coloring books, not “fighting for your life or recovering from a gunshot wound.”
“All they were doing was riding the bus coming home from school, and an idiot with a gun shot it indiscriminately and shot two children,” Bowser said.
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The mayor added that because there are not enough police to be on every Metro transit or street corner, both officials and the community need to work together to keep guns out of young people’s hands and make sure there are consequences for those who resort to gun violence.
Contee said both the Metro Transit Police and the Metropolitan Police Department are reviewing video footage and plan to release images of those who were involved in the shooting. He asked the public to share any videos they may have taken with the police, as well.