D.C. police made an arrest in the shooting of a bystander in broad daylight on New Year's Day in Northwest.
Officers responded about 12:20 p.m. Tuesday to a shooting at 1st and Kennedy streets NW.
According to the preliminary investigation, two groups of men got into a dispute and someone pulled out a gun.
An innocent bystander who was believed to be going to a restaurant in the area was shot in the head. He was taken to a hospital in life-threatening condition.
The victim is in critical condition. Police did not release his name.
Police arrested 20-year-old William D'Sean Wrice of Northeast D.C. Wednesday and charged him with assault with intent to kill.
“I don’t want to leave anyone with the impression that this happens frequently here in our city, but it does illustrate how dangerous it is to use a firearm in such a small city,” Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham said.
As Mayor Muriel Bowser was sworn in for her second term Wednesday, she reflected on the innocent victims of D.C.’s spike in murders, like 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson, killed in a hail of gunfire as she went to buy ice cream, and Wendy Martinez, who was stabbed to death as she was out for an evening run.
“One of the worst calls that you can get as mayor is when someone dies on our streets — even worse when that person is an innocent child, like Makiyah, who should be doing things that little girls do, or Wendy who should be spending time with her new husband,” Bowser said.
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The number of homicides rose 38 percent from 2017 to 2018, with 116 victims in 2017 and 160 victims in 2018, Metropolitan Police Department data shows.
