On the night of March 14, a few minutes before 11 p.m., shots rang out on Cain’s Way, an alley south of the 1500 block of East Capitol St. SE, north of A Street SE. One bullet narrowly missed a child.
“It is an actual miracle from God that no one in my [family] was injured last night,” the parent said, clearly still shaken.
Thankfully, there were no reported injuries, but the police report indicates that a bullet struck the frame of a bunk bed. Bullets also passed through the windows of Center City Public Charter School at 1503 E. Capitol St. SE, which is located on the alley.
“It looks like a war scene,” one resident said.
MPD Responds
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers immediately responded to the area, roping offf the alley. According to the police report, they found two destroyed vehicles. The windows and siding of a nearby home were also damaged. The area’s Internet service was out, neighbors reported, attributing the outabe to euipment damaged in the shooting.
Police have determined the incident to be an “Endangerment with a Firearm in a Public Place.”
Neither alert nor lookout was issued to the public, although the incident report notes a dark-colored vehicle was reported as leaving the alley northbound. This is in keeping with MPD standard operating procedure.
“We do not issue DC Alerts or tweets for Unlawful Discharge offenses, and would only put something out if we had a specific actionable lookout, which was not the case,” a spokesperson said. “I hear the concern though, and it’s something worth my team looking into.”
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Neighbors In The Dark
Neighbors decry the lack of informaiton. They can hear the gunshots, but have no clue if someone has been injured or killed.
“Saying nothing doesn’t help,” one neighbor said. “It’s not like acting like everything’s the same as it always is is comforting.”
The neighborhood has been on edge. Two years ago, there were a spate of shootings in the area between 15th and 17th Streets and Independence and A Street NE. Last year, neighbors ducked in their cars and on the sidewalks as gunfire broke out. There were at least two shootings in April 2024 alone.
One house in particular on the A Street SE side has been associated with crimes and shootings, a neighbor said. The address is at the center of a case now under investigation by the US Attorney for DC (USADC).
A Family Considers Relocating
“There was a shootout in our ANC last night. A family with kids is looking to move after 15 years here,” wrote ANC 7D09 Commssioner Ashley Schapitl on X. “A neighbor who has lived here 30 years said he’s never heard so many shots. I wish our mayoral candidates would stop pretending the District’s violent crime crisis is fixed.”
“I think as neighbors on that block, we just feel like completely betrayed and let down by the police, because they continually just say there’s nothing they can do,” the parent said.
It wasn’t the family’s first encounter with gunfire. But it was by far the worst, and they aren’t willng to put their children on the line, the parents said. They are planning to relocate.
USADC did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
Police are looking for any information or camera footage that could help with this investigation. Anyone who has information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information, video or photos may be submitted to the department’s Text Tip Line by sending a text message to 50411. MPD currently offers a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a violent crime committed in the District of Columbia.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information is received.
