A man has been arrested after shooting at a passing D.C. police cruiser in broad daylight, News4's Jackie Bensen reports.
D.C. police said at about 5:45 p.m. Wednesday a man started firing a gun at the passing vehicle in the 600 block of Mellon Street, SE, just off Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
On Thursday, police identified the suspect as 34-year-old Richard Butler III of Alexandria. He was charged with assault on a police officer.
"It was unprovoked," said Cmdr. Vendette Parker, with the Metropolitan Police Department.
Police said it was very sudden and people were walking along the nearby sidewalk at the time.
Officers drew their weapons and returned fire. One woman threw her car in reverse to try to avoid the gunfire and wound up crashing into a Lexus behind her, Bensen reports.
Police said they found two guns in Butler's possession.
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There were no injuries, including the people involved in the car crash, police said.
On Sunday, March 13, a Prince George's County Officer Jacai Colson was accidentally shot and killed when a man began shooting outside a police station.
The suspect, Michael DeAndre Ford, had a history of mental illness and intended to die at the hand of an officer, police said.
D.C. police have not yet said what the motivation was for Thursday's shooting.
