Multiple people shot after incident in Washington DC, say police
Anna Betts
Multiple people have been shot in north-west Washington DC on Thursday morning, local police have confirmed, prompting a “barricade situation” in the area.
In a statement at 9.21am ET, the DC police said that the incident has “resulted in a barricade situation in the 1500 block of 15th Street, Northwest”.
“Please avoid the area as we work to resolve the incident,” they added.
A Vida Fitness manager told ABC7News that shots were fired outside the business. The local news station reported that as of 9am local time on Thursday morning, the business was still under lockdown and there is police inside the building.
The manager said that they feel safe with police inside, and that the gym will be closed the rest of the day.
Several schools in the area are on lockdown on Thursday morning.
Key events
Further to that, NBC News reports that the suspect is barricaded in an apartment building above the gym on 15th Street, citing a federal law enforcement official.
The incident is shifting from an active shooter response to a barricaded subject response, a federal law enforcement official has told NBC News.
It is believed there is no other individual there at scene so this is not considered a hostage situation, they said, adding that it has been about 90 minutes since the suspect fired at law enforcement, which did not strike anyone.
District of Columbia Public Schools has put multiple schools in the vicinity of the shooting on alert status, meaning no one can go in or out of the campuses, but activities inside remain normal.
A post on social media reported that a nearby building appeared to be on fire. The Guardian has not been able to independently verify this claim.
James Spellman was at the gym a little after 8am when he heard shots being fired. He said there were about 50 people in the gym at the time, reported AP.
“Within seconds there was a man who fell to the ground, and a pool of blood came out,” he said. “One gym member rushed to help him. He was instantly dead. He had been shot in the neck.”
Spellman told AP that he and other gym members ran out of the gym, and he said he heard more gunfire in the area of 15th Street. He said he heard about two shots fired in the gym and about five or six fired outside.
Witness Ryan Dubicki was in his nearby apartment around 8 am when, he said, he “heard about five bangs.”
“They were really spread out so I thought it was construction,” he said. It was only a short time later that he looked out “and there were cops everywhere.”
His apartment building managers sent a notice that there was a possible active shooter, reported AP.
Gun violence charity March for Our Lives wrote about the incident online, saying:
Just after 8AM, a gunman opened fire at the VIDA Fitness in Logan Circle, right here in Washington, DC. At least five people were shot, the surrounding blocks were locked down, and nearby schools were put on alert. People who walked in for a morning workout found themselves running for their lives and sheltering from gunfire.
What should have been an ordinary Thursday morning became a scene none of our neighbors should ever have to carry. This is why we do this work. Gun violence doesn’t just happen somewhere else. Today it happened down the street, and we will not accept it as normal.
The shootings were reported in Logan Circle, about 1 mile north of the White House.
Police urged people to avoid the area of the 1500 block of 15th Street, which includes a VIDA fitness center, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and residences and is around the corner from a Whole Foods supermarket, the AP reports.
Much of the block was cordoned off. Schools near the scene were placed on lockdown.
Multiple people shot after incident in Washington DC, say police
Anna Betts
Multiple people have been shot in north-west Washington DC on Thursday morning, local police have confirmed, prompting a “barricade situation” in the area.
In a statement at 9.21am ET, the DC police said that the incident has “resulted in a barricade situation in the 1500 block of 15th Street, Northwest”.
“Please avoid the area as we work to resolve the incident,” they added.
A Vida Fitness manager told ABC7News that shots were fired outside the business. The local news station reported that as of 9am local time on Thursday morning, the business was still under lockdown and there is police inside the building.
The manager said that they feel safe with police inside, and that the gym will be closed the rest of the day.
Several schools in the area are on lockdown on Thursday morning.
Armed police and members of the National Guard were visible around the Logan Circle area of Washington DC after the incident began on Thursday morning.
Police issue shelter-in-place order after at least five people shot in Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington DC
Anna Betts
At least five people have been shot in Northwest Washington DC on Thursday morning, local police confirmed to the Associated Press.
A spokesperson for the Washington DC police department told the Guardian in a brief phone call on Thursday morning that the scene was “still active”. No further details were immediately available.
The DC police department said in a social media post at about 8.20am ET that officers were on the scene responding to an “active shooting in the area of 15th and P Street, Northwest”. The department’s emergency response team was also at the scene. The department urged the public to avoid the area.
The Metropolitan police department has also issued a shelter-in-place order for those in the immediate vicinity of the 1500 block of 15th Street NW. They have urged residents to “go inside to the nearest building, stay away from windows and remain indoors until further notice”.
Local council member Brooke Pinto also posted on social media on Thursday morning that there had been a shooting “at and outside Vida fitness this morning in Logan Circle”.
“Do not go to this area,” Pinto said. “Police looking for suspect.”
A reporter for the Washington Sun said that they spoke with a witness who was in the gym and “heard one gunshot and saw one person down in the gym itself, followed by more shots”.
The person told the reporter that the gym “cleared out” and that people were running from the scene with their “arms raised” as police yelled to clear out.
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