A D.C. couple’s piano got caught in the crossfire of an early morning shootout on H Street NE, and they believe if that instrument wasn’t there, one of them might have been struck in their sleep.
Two people exchanged gunfire about 2:45 a.m. Friday, and a bullet went through the double-pane window of the couple’s sixth-floor condo before blowing a chunk out of the thick, solid leg of their grand piano.
“You would never in a million years think the bullet would come up this high,” the husband said.
Crime scene investigators recovered the bullet from the floor.
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“Around 10 a.m., our son came over and said, ‘Hey, there’s a problem,’ and so we came over and took a look at the living room area,” the husband said.
The hole in the window is just inches away from a couch where people sit to watch TV.
Another bullet struck the exterior of the building just below the window.
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The couple was drawn to H Street NE for its vibrancy and convenience after she had lived on nearby Capitol Hill for many years. But he says the past few years have brought an unnerving increase in crime, including multiple shootings.
They have pressed the District’s elected officials about it and plan to do so again in a meeting at the building next week. This time, they say they’ll make it clear this incident has shaken their faith that they can remain in the neighborhood.
“My wife and I have traveled overseas, lived overseas, and I would say even in hostile situations, have probably not felt this unsafe before,” the husband said
When officers arrived at the scene, they found one of the suspects, 35-year-old Jahi Waters, had been shot, police said. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.
Surveillance cameras caught images of the other suspect’s car.
In May, a man shot an employee of a restaurant about seven blocks away on H Street.
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