DC Man Killed, Woman Hurt With Children in Back Seat

A 4-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl was in the back seat when someone opened fire on Robert Merritt and the children's mother

With two young children in the back seat of a car in Northeast D.C., a man was shot and killed, and the children's mother was wounded. 

Robert Merritt died after being shot Tuesday morning in the 1600 block of Montana Avenue NE, police said. He was 26. 

Merritt's girlfriend was shot and wounded as her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter sat in the back of a dark sedan. 

Nine shots rang out as the mother took her children to day care about 8 a.m. Tuesday. 

Merritt fell to the ground and later was pronounced dead. The woman was rushed to a hospital in critical but stable condition, police said. 

Neighbors said they heard the children screaming. They were shaken but uninjured. 

Assistant Police Chief Robert Contee said the crime should shock D.C. residents. 

"The public should be outraged by this, as we are," he said. 

The search for the shooter is underway. No information on a suspect was released. 

D.C. has seen a spike in deadly shootings this year. To date, 126 people have been homicide victims in D.C. in 2018. At this time last year, 88 people had been killed. In all of 2017, 116 people were killed.

Anyone with information for police is asked to call 202-727-9099. A reward of as much as $25,000 is offered.

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