Four people were injured and a man was killed late Monday in two separate shootings in D.C., police say. The violence occurred the same day Pamela Smith was sworn in as D.C.'s new police chief.
The man who died was found in the Brookland neighborhood, about half a block away from Catholic University, shortly before 10 p.m.
Officers were called for a reported shooting and found a victim at Seventh and Monroe Streets NE who had been shot multiple times. The victim was unresponsive and died from his injuries.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
Authorities have identified him as 44-year-old Robert Lavender of Southeast D.C., the Metropolitan Police Department said.
It's not clear what led up to the shooting. After an initial investigation, police do not believe the shooting was connected to the university.
A little more than an hour later, about 11:15 p.m., officers were called to another shooting, this one in the 1200 block of Barnaby Terrace SE.
Three men and a teenage boy were found shot and were conscious and breathing, according to police. At least two of the victims were in critical condition and were airlifted to a hospital by a U.S. Park Police medevac helicopter.
Dozens of shell casings littered the ground near Barnaby Terrace after the shooting. A parked car was damaged where a bullet pierced the windshield.
Police are looking for a sedan with heavily tinted windows last seen leaving the scene.
'Something needs to be done'
It’s been a difficult month at Catholic University. In addition to Monday night's deadly shooting, a teacher visiting D.C. from Kentucky was killed on campus during an attempted robbery two weeks ago. The suspected shooter in that case was arrested and is now being held in jail.
Residents walking near the university said people should be worried about gun violence across the District.
"It's bad that it happened here, but it shouldn't be like 'Oh, like this is a nice area,'" the resident said. "Something needs to be done; things already needed to be done."
Catholic University put out a statement Tuesday, calling the recent increase in violent crime a "critical issue."
The school says it’s requested a meeting with the D.C. police department to talk about how to tackle the problem.
New police chief: top priority is to 'drive down crime'
D.C. swore in Pamela Smith as the new police chief on Monday. She said her top priority is to "drive down crime" as the District grapples with gun violence.
One D.C. resident said she would like the chief to invest in alternative responses to violence including mental health services.
“Youth violence is not a good thing, but some of the kids are doing that because they are traumatized, and they do not know how else to respond to situations,” a resident said.
Another resident said she would like to see the new chief enforce a youth curfew to lower violence.
“Paddywagon, youth services division, your parents will have to come and get you,” the resident said. “That should be brought back, and maybe it will stop some of the teen violence, the cars getting stolen and just everything in general.”
D.C.’s curfew law has been around since 1995, but enforcement varies. During the summer, anyone under the age of 17 cannot be out between midnight and 6 a.m.
Smith has over 20 years of experience at the U.S. Park Police where she retired as chief. She spent the last 14 months at the Metropolitan Police Department as the chief equity officer and assistant chief of the Homeland Security Bureau.
“I’ve had the opportunity to really sit and watch our assistant chiefs fight crime, during our crime briefings,” Smith told News4’s Mark Segraves. “I mean, they are really looking at initiatives and strategies in order to combat crime.”
