A man attending his child's baptism service at a church in D.C. was shot while trying to stop someone from breaking into a car nearby, police say.
The victim and another person walked outside on the 2200 block of Evarts Street NE near the Mekane Hiwot Medhane Alem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and saw a suspect was breaking into their car, D.C. police said.
They confronted the suspect, who then took out a gun and shot one of them, police said.
The suspect then stole another person's car, a grey Toyota Corolla with Maryland tags 5CDX96 and drove off.
Witnesses said the suspect came back to scene after apparently leaving something behind.
"He came back again. He came while the guy was laying over there," said Amare Lucas, a church administrator.
The suspect took off again.
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The victim was conscious and breathing when medics took him to a hospital.
Congregants say he was at church for a special baptism ceremony for his child.
"This is his first baby. He came to baptize the baby," Lucas said.
Neighbors of the church say there have been some car break-ins over the last week.
"I think it's just opportunistic," one woman said.
"They broke in three cars and a fourth car was taken away, was stolen. So, we reported it to police. Now, a week later, look what is happening," Lucas said.
The church plans to hire security.
"Our members are now scared to come," Lucas said.
