D.C. police officers shot and killed a man in Southeast D.C. Tuesday night after he fired at the officers, police chief Peter Newsham said at a news conference Wednesday.
Marqueese Alston ran from officers, fired at them using an illegal handgun and then was killed by the officers, Newsham said. He was 22 and lived in Temple Hills, Maryland.
Police later determined Alston was on court supervision and was wearing a GPS monitor. He previously was convicted of robbery and on gun charges, and served two years in prison, Newsham said.
"He was armed, he was a felon, he was under supervision and he fired at police officers," the police chief said.
Police body cameras were turned on during the shootout, deputy mayor Kevin Donahue said at the news conference. The mayor's office will determine whether the video can be released to the public without jeopardizing the case.
Three uniformed patrol officers turned onto an alley near 1st Street and Wayne Place SE about 7:10 p.m. Tuesday and came across a group of men, Newsham said later Tuesday night.
The men ran away when they spotted the officers, police said in a statement. Officers pursued them.
During the chase, Alston pulled out a gun, police said. An officer fired and struck him, police said.
Alston was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. No one else was injured.
Police showed a photo of a black handgun investigators recovered at the scene. Newsham said they found what they believe to be shell casings from that gun.
People in the area during the shooting said they don't think they heard crossfire.
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"From what I heard, out my window, it was no exchange of gunfire," Michael Brown, who lives nearby, said. "It was just straight up brrrrrp."
"There was no crossfire," another witness told News4. She asked to remain anonymous.
Newsham responded to those accounts at the news conference.
"It's very difficult to determine an exchange of gunfire just from listening to gunshots," he said.
The shooting comes one day after Montgomery County police shot an unarmed man who allegedly attacked an officer. Robert Lawrence White, 41, died from his injuries.
Police ask anyone with information to contact them.
Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
