gun violence

Man Killed, Woman Hurt in Adams Morgan Shooting: Police

Police said they were alerted to a shooting in front of 1608 Belmont Street NW.  The man killed was identified as 30-year-old Avon Perkins of Baltimore, Maryland.

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One person was killed and another was shot Saturday after someone opened fire in Adams Morgan, according to authorities. 

D.C. police said they were alerted by ShotSpotter technology to a shooting at around 1:20 a.m. in front of 1608 Belmont Street NW. 

First responders found a man, identified as 30-year-old Avon Perkins of Baltimore, Maryland, on the sidewalk in front of 2467 18th Street NW suffering from gunshot wounds. Perkins was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. 

A woman was hit by a stray bullet, and she was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening at a hospital, authorities said. 

A third person, Bill Duggan, the owner of Madam’s Organ bar, said he watched the shooting happen. Though he was not injured, he said the gunman fired in his direction.

"I heard the gunshot and I turned, and I saw the [victim] falling backwards. And the other man was there with the gun out and he just continued to shoot him. Shot him a total of five times. I had yelled, told everybody to get down," Duggan said. "He, I guess, heard it, turned toward me, towards us."

Duggan said he and others dove out of the way as the gunman opened fire.

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"He got the last shot out, turned. I saw him put his gun back in his jacket and start to run," he said.

A motive for the shooting and description of the suspect were not provided. Authorities say eight rounds were fired.

Duggan believes more needs to be done to keep people safe in the neighborhood.

"If you have this many people out late at night and you have absolutely no police, sooner or later, something like this is going to happen," he said. "Truthfully I think the young man would be alive tonight if we had any police presence in this neighborhood."

Police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. Tipsters should call police at 202-727-9099 or submit information anonymously by texting 50411.

This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.

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