Arrest Made After Teen Stabbed at National Zoo

One in zoo police custody

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged after another teenager was stabbed at the crowded Smithsonian National Zoo late Monday afternoon.

D.C. police and D.C. Fire and EMS were called to the 2900 block of Connecticut Avenue NW for the report of a stabbing. They found a teen stabbed in the arm, side and elbow, according to authorities. The teen was taken to Children’s National Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

The teen apparently was stabbed in two encounters with the same group, Darcy Spencer reported.

As the zoo’s annual Easter Monday African-American Family Celebration ended at about 4 p.m., there was an altercation near the small mammal house on zoo grounds, and juveniles were removed from the property, according to the National Zoo.

As many as two dozen people were involved in the altercation, witnesses said.

Zoo police took one person into custody and handed him over to the Metropolitan Police Department, according to the National Zoo.  The teen was later charged with assault with intent to kill.

A teen also is being evaluated for injuries suffered in an assault about a block away, Spencer reported. Police are investigating whether that assault is related to the stabbing.

On Easter Monday in 2000, a 16-year-old shot seven people at the National Zoo, Spencer reported.

The National Zoo reached its 25,000 visitor capacity Monday. Gates were closed to additional visitors, as is standard procedure.

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