A woman was fatally shot inside a car early Thursday afternoon on New Jersey Avenue NW, not far from Dunbar High School, police said.
D.C. police believe two women were inside a car in the 1300 block of New Jersey Avenue NW when the passenger shot the driver, who crashed the car into a telephone pole, police said.
The incident happened shortly before 12:20 p.m. right by a fire station. First responders rushed out in an attempt to save 38-year-old Sophia Johnson's life, but she was pronounced dead on the scene.
Police recovered a gun and shell casings inside the car and questioned 39-year-old Ariel Cooper, who was the only other person inside the car at the time.
"Preliminarily, we do know that there was a firearm inside the vehicle present, as well as spent shell casings, indicating that the gun was fired, or a gun was fired, from inside the vehicle," Third District Commander James Boteler said.
Cooper is charged with second-degree murder while armed.
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The relationship between the two women wasn't immediately clear except that they knew each other.
Police said a stray bullet hit another car in the area, but nobody else was hurt.
"We believe at this time that this was self-contained to what happened inside this vehicle while traveling through our District," Boteler said.
Dunbar High School went into a brief lockdown after the shooting, but it was lifted.
This is a developing story. Stay with NBC Washington for more.
