Mass Shooting: 1 Boy Dead, Police Officer and 19 Other People Injured During Huge Gathering, Cops Say

Police in Washington D.C. say there was a mass shooting overnight at a local gathering featuring music and food. One teen died: Christopher “Poppy” Brown, 17. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, Police Chief Peter Newsham told reporters in a press conference.

This is the mother of the 17yo victim “Poppy”, Artecka Brown. When she talked to us, she told us it still hasn’t hit her yet. Also says Poppy has a 1yo child with a second child on the way.
Tells us he was a great father. @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/8nbZYyzcw1

— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) August 9, 2020

20 people were injured; at least 11 were women. One of them was identified as an off-duty officer for the Metropolitan Police Department. She is described as being the second-most serious victim, having been shot.

“She is struggling for her life right now at a local hospital,” Newsham said. Two of the victims were 17 years old, he said. The rest are adults. Besides Brown and the officer, the rest of the gunshot wounds were apparently non-life threatening.

There was “large gathering” at around 12:20 a.m. in the 3300 block of Dubois Place SE. Gunshots rang out. There were multiple shooters, at least three but “probably more,” he said. The weapons were apparently semiautomatic handguns. There were too many people out there amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

The reason the shooting happened remains unclear. There had been a dispute, Newsham said. Investigators did not have the detail to show if rounds were exchanged, or fired into the crowd, he said. No permit was issued for the gathering, according to his account. As part of their preliminary information, there were officers at the scene. There were not enough to move a crowd of that size, he said. Hundreds attended the gathering, he said.

[Screengrab via Fox 5 DC]