A D.C. woman and her two grandchildren ducked for cover when gunfire penetrated her home in LeDroit Park in a shooting that injured a 15-year-old boy Sunday afternoon.
Aisha Goodman and her grandchildren were relaxing in the home on V Street NW when shots were fired after 3 p.m.
“It was just like pop, pop, pop,” she said. “Then it was a whole collage of hell.”
“The only thing we could do was run, duck, dodge, and scram, and huddle, and huddle, looking for safety,” Goodman said.
They stayed low as at least 10 bullets flew over their heads as the walls seemed to explode around them.
“My grandsons are 2 and 7,” Goodman said. “They had to crawl, and I had to scramble them, and they didn’t know. They’re trying to run, and I’m telling them to duck, because glass is flying, the walls are flying off, and I didn’t want them to get shot.”
They made it to their bathroom, where Goodman thought they would be safe.
“Because it seemed like it would be the safest spot because of the way it was angled, it’s in the back, but even in the bathroom if you look out the bathroom door, you can see the bullets were going to the bathroom as well,” she said.
They huddled there in fear for what seemed like an eternity, Goodman said. She called police and waited for rescue.
Bullet holes in the windows of an adjacent building show the gunfire continued past her building.
It happened near a playground where children could have been playing, but fortunately, they weren’t. That’s why she doesn’t let her grandkids use the playground.
She’s lived in the Kelly Miller Dwellings for eight years, and it wasn’t the first time she’s been too close for comfort as shots were fired. She said she wants move.
“I cannot stay there; I don’t feel safe,” Goodman said. “There is no safety.”
She’s still shaken, and her grandkids are still frightened and confused.
“Once I look at everything, I do realize how grateful we are that we are still in one piece and we are still here,” she said.
The wounded teenager was struck outside. His injuries are described as not life-threatening.
Authorities are searching for a burgundy Dodge Durango with Maryland tags. They did not immediately say what led to the shooting.
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