The District is reeling after gun violence on Friday killed a 3-year-old girl and wounded a 17-year-old in two separate shootings.
On Friday morning, a 17-year-old girl sitting in a classroom at Dunbar High School in Northwest D.C. was grazed in the forehead by a bullet. The varsity athlete was speaking with a teacher when a hail of gunfire erupted outside and bullets flew through windows. The teen was wounded deeply enough that her skull was visible, court documents say.
That night, 3-year-old Ty’ah Settles was shot as she rode in an SUV on Harford Street SE and people opened fire outside, police said. The toddler was flown to a hospital, where she died. She is the youngest homicide victim in D.C. so far this year.
After the high school shooting, police arrested and charged two teens, who both were students at the school. More arrests in the case are expected. Video shows a group of teens running in an alley.
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Saki Frost, 17, and Azhari Graves, 18, were both charged as adults. They were held without bond.
The search for Ty’ah Settles’ killer is ongoing.
Mayor Muriel Bowser addressed the shootings for the first time on Monday. She voiced her anger over the loss of another child and called on people to put the guns down.
“Let me say how tragic an incident this is, and, I feel like a broken record when I say that because, unfortunately, I’ve had to talk to you about children who should be with us,” Bowser said.
“Parents, community, police – we are all hyper-focused on making sure kids are where they’re supposed to be and kids who have guns are in the place that they’re supposed to be,” she said.
There was an increased police presence at Dunbar on Monday. Some members of the community said they’re still coming to grips with the shooting.
“It’s really disturbing. I just think that the administrators need to do a little bit more with checking into these kids,” parent Nathaniel Titus said.
When windows shattered at Dunbar, another student may have swallowed glass, court documents say. That student and the teen grazed in the head are both expected to recover from their injuries.
“All prayers go out to her and her family, and this school, obviously. It was crazy what we witnessed,” student Makhi Brighthaupt said.
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The suspects in the Dunbar shooting are set to return to court on May 28.
No information on a possible suspect or motive in the killing of Ty’ah Settles has been released. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to come forward.
