A man fatally shot during a shooting that injured two D.C. police officers had an extensive criminal history, court records showed.
The shooting happened about 10:40 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Holbrooke and Morse streets, Northeast, where police responded to an earlier report of shots fired, police said.
Officers tried to stop the man, identified as Timothy Lionel Williams, 47, who police said tried to run from the officers. There was a struggle before an exchange of gunfire, acting police Chief Peter Newsham said. It appears that only one of the two officers fired, and Williams' gun was also discharged, he said.
Newsham said he didn't know why the officers had tried to stop Williams.
Two officers were shot in the lower part of their bodies, Newsham previously said.
One officer's injuries were serious; he underwent surgery late Thursday. The other was being treated in the hospital, police sources said. He was released by Friday afternoon.
Williams was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to court records, Williams has a criminal history dating back to 1989. He was sentenced to eight years in prison after crashing a stolen car into a Montgomery County police cruiser. The crash ended a 20-mile chase in which Williams sped 143 miles per hour, records said.
In 1994, Williams pleaded guilty to armed robbery and weapons charges in Prince George's County and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to court records.
A man who told News4 he is Williams' relative said he wants to know what happened Thursday night.
"I want to see justice, I mean, I want them to thoroughly investigate what happened, why he was shot," he said. He did not want to be identified.
A video posted to Twitter showed some of the shooting on Thursday night. The video appears to show Williams on the ground and an officer fall. News4 is not publishing that portion of the video because it is graphic in nature.
But Newsham said the video is only a glimpse into what unfolded.
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"I'm hopeful that anyone who's looking at one small piece of evidence doesn't draw any conclusions," Newsham said.
Police recovered a semi-automatic handgun from the scene that they believe belonged to Williams.
Newsham said both officers had activated their body-worn cameras before the pursuit began.
"That footage is currently under review," he said Friday afternoon.
Before Bowser can consider releasing the body cam footage to the public, she will have to consult with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Office of the Attorney General, Newsham said. That consultation is underway, he said.
