Police and federal agents swarmed into a northwest Washington neighborhood on Friday after at least four people were shot in a flurry of gunfire. City officials warned people to stay inside because of an "active threat" as dozens of officers in tactical gear searched for the suspect.
The law enforcement officers responded to the scene near Connecticut Avenue and Van Ness St. in the Van Ness neighbourhood of Washington shortly before 3:30 p.m. The gunfire rocked the normally quiet neighbourhood that's home to several schools and colleges and dozens of embassies.
Hours later, the Metropolitan Police Department said investigators were seeking to question a 23-year-old man from Virginia they identified as a person of interest. The man was "linked to social media postings" that emerged as part of the investigation, Assistant Police Chief Stuart Emerman said.
The victims included a 54-year-old man, a woman in her 30s, a woman in her mid-60s who was grazed in the back by a bullet, and a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the arm, Emerman said. All of the victims were expected to recover. Police warned people who live in the nearby neighbourhoods of Cleveland Park and Van Ness to shelter in place for hours.
The gunfire erupted just as parents were picking up their children from the Edmund Burke School, a private college preparatory school, sending frantic parents running from the scene and putting Burke and other nearby schools on immediate lockdown.
Bibi Stewart of Anne Arundel, Maryland, was approaching the line to pick up her 12-year-old twins when she heard the gunfire ring out. She said it sounded like the shots were coming from above and at a distance.
"They did it right at dismissal," she said.
Stewart said she saw glass shattering in a bridge connecting different wings of the school and she saw the tires of cars in the pickup line shot out.
"They're just saying they're OK" and hiding in the school with their friends and adults, she said of her children.
Police in tactical gear were seen escorting people -- including college students from nearby campuses -- out of apartment buildings in the area. Officers pointed their rifles upward toward other buildings and windows as the people moved quickly down the street with their hands raised above their heads.
"I had to look in parents' eyes tonight who are terrified ... thinking of what might happen to their children," District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference. "And we have experienced this too much in our country. The epidemic of gun violence, the easy access to weapons, has got to stop. People should not be scared taking their children to school."
Police were going door-to-door in area buildings as they searched for the shooter.
Emerman said police were also aware of a video posted online that may be connected to the shooting, though he cautioned that investigators hadn't yet authenticated the video. Police were questioning witnesses at the scene and were still trying to discern a motive for the shooting, he said.
Video posted on Twitter captured the sound of bursts of rapid gunfire.
The University of the District of Columbia, which is located nearby, went into lockdown, telling students and staff to shelter and stay in place. In a tweet, the college said there was an "active shooting incident near student housing" and the suspect remained at large.
Eduardo Bugay, a student at the college, said he was in his first-floor apartment in the AVA building when he heard the shots.
"At first I was confused," he said, not sure what he was hearing. Then, he said, he got scared.
Bugay said the university sent emails telling students to stay in place. About 30 to 40 minutes after he first heard the gunshots, police came knocking on his door to escort him and others from the building.
A slew of law enforcement officials and emergency crews were sent to the scene. Agents from the FBI arrived in an armoured vehicle and the U.S. Secret Service said its officers were aiding police in the search and at the scene. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said its agents were also assisting in the investigation.
Separately on Friday, emergency medical crews were called to the U.S. Supreme Court around 6:30 p.m. after a man attempted to set himself on fire outside the building. The man was rushed by police helicopter to a local hospital and his condition wasn't immediately known.
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.
The Ontario government says it will be raising the speed limit along certain stretches of provincial highways soon, including Highway 401 and Highway 403.
Organizations across the country are gearing up for what they describe as the largest LGBTQ2S+ mobilization since the push for marriage equality.
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
A global treaty to end plastic waste will not be ambitious enough if it does not include some limits on plastic production, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Tuesday as the fourth round of negotiations kicked off in Ottawa.
Greece's parliamentary speaker said that he would seek criminal charges against a lawmaker who allegedly punched a colleague during a debate on Wednesday.
Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in raids across Sydney on Wednesday, as a judge extended a ban on social media platform X sharing video of a knife attack on a bishop that started the criminal investigation.
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Chuch has suspended a priest who participated in services for the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Several military horses bolted during routine exercises near King Charles III's main residence in London on Wednesday and ran loose through the centre of the city, injuring at least four people and colliding with vehicles during the morning rush hour.
The office of Canada's justice minister says the public should expect politicians to support their right to bail and to be presumed innocent - warning that 'immediate' and 'uninformed reactions' only worsens matters.
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that it had found bird flu virus particles in some samples of pasteurized milk, but said commercial milk supply remains safe.
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Many animals can glow in the dark. Fireflies famously blink on summer evenings. But most animals that light up are found in the depths of the ocean.
Close flybys of Io, one of Jupiter’s moons and the most volcanically active world in our solar system, have revealed a lava lake and a towering feature called 'Steeple Mountain' on the moon's alien surface.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Season 3 of Shoresy, which is filmed and based in Sudbury, Ont., debuts next month with a two-episode premiere.
The defence attorney representing a former Los Angeles-area gang leader accused of killing music legend Tupac Shakur in 1996 in Las Vegas says his client’s accounts of the killing are fiction.
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Alberta's alcohol industry is pushing back against a provincial government consideration to allow liquor sales in grocery and convenience stores.
Tesla's first-quarter net income plummeted 55 per cent as falling global sales and price cuts sliced into the electric vehicle maker's revenue and profit margins.
There is a swaying sea of colour in some cities across Canada, and it's a sure sign of spring: cherry blossoms are in bloom.
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.
A Calgary criminal defence lawyer has launched a clothing campaign to promote awareness about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
As a young hockey player growing up in North Vancouver, Colton Sissons was a die-hard Canucks fan. Twelve years after being drafted by Nashville, the Predators centre is facing off against the Canucks during the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in his career.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
A made-in-China electric vehicle will hit North American dealers this summer offering power and efficiency similar to the Tesla Model Y, the world's best-selling EV, but for about US$8,000 less.
Tesla's first-quarter net income plummeted 55 per cent as falling global sales and price cuts sliced into the electric vehicle maker's revenue and profit margins.
Electric car sales will rise strongly in 2024 and increasingly undercut oil demand, the International Energy Agency forecast on Tuesday, adding affordability and charging infrastructure would be key to future growth.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
B.C.’s premier and one of his top lieutenants are pushing back against allegations by the Official Opposition that he covertly commissioned a report into the diversion of safe supply drugs onto the streets.
As a young hockey player growing up in North Vancouver, Colton Sissons was a die-hard Canucks fan. Twelve years after being drafted by Nashville, the Predators centre is facing off against the Canucks during the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in his career.
The province revealed 20 more cities that will be getting housing targets on Tuesday, but the mayors of some communities on the list argue that they’re already doing everything they can to build and that they’re being singled out.
The Ontario government says it will be raising the speed limit along certain stretches of provincial highways soon, including Highway 401 and Highway 403.
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewellery store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
A marathon meeting over proposed blanket rezoning in Calgary continued Tuesday in front of a noticeably smaller crowd at city hall.
In the northwest Calgary community of Bowness, single-family homes are making way for multi-family apartments and row houses.
Calgary police say a woman who died in the community of Redstone over the weekend is the city's seventh homicide of 2024.
Beginning this summer, the speed limit will increase from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on approximately 70 kilometres of Hwy. 416 between Hwy. 401 and Ottawa.
Police in western Quebec are crediting an alert employee at a Chelsea, Que. bar for calling police to report an alleged impaired driver, who police say registered four times the legal limit on a breathalyzer test.
A new federal pilot project is in the works to reduce single-use plastics at major grocery retailers and it's taking place right here in Ottawa.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Quebec Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel paid a private communications agency $1,375 to write one of his speeches.
SAQ employees begin their two-day strike.
Edmonton city council unanimously agreed on an 8.9-per cent property tax increase Tuesday evening.
The Edmonton Police Service has confirmed a fire that destroyed a historic hangar in central Edmonton is considered suspicious.
The Oilers announced a sellout crowd for their 7-4 win over Los Angeles on Monday that opened a first-round playoff series with the Kings. Unoccupied seats, however, were noticeable throughout the arena.
Halifax Regional Police has confirmed the identity of the teen who died following an incident in the parking lot of the Halifax Shopping Centre Monday.
A tower crane operator alerted emergency crews after noticing a fire on a construction site in Halifax Tuesday morning.
A New Brunswick mom is speaking out for her son after learning that after over a decade of care, he is now too old for the IWK in Halifax, which age mandate is 16 years of age for children
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Alexandar Georgiev paid back his Colorado Avalanche teammates for believing in him.
Anyone who visits Assiniboine Park Zoo can see empty or near-empty exhibits scattered throughout the grounds – spaces that previously served as homes for aging animals that have since passed away.
Daniel "Juma" Drie Atem, wanted in connection to a Regina homicide last summer, is now one of Canada's Top 25 Most Wanted.
A new mental health support program for veterans is honouring the life of a Sask. man killed during the mass stabbings on the James Smith Cree Nation.
The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation said its members are "strongly encouraged" to attend one of two online town hall meetings scheduled to happen prior to a membership vote on a possible deal.
A pedestrian had to be taken to an out-of-region hospital following a crash in Kitchener.
For Kitchener resident Chris Wilson, indoor parking is much more than a convenient place to leave his vehicle.
Habiton Solomon is wanted in the fatal 2023 shooting of Joshua Tarnue in Kitchener.
The union representing the city’s bus drivers says violence against transit workers is out of control.
People in Saskatchewan will keep getting Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite an ongoing feud between Ottawa and the provincial government.
A new mental health support program for veterans is honouring the life of a Sask. man killed during the mass stabbings on the James Smith Cree Nation.
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
It was a scary sight in northern Ontario Monday morning after an electric mobility scooter caught on fire.
Two people from southern Ontario are charged with drug and weapons offences following a traffic stop Monday evening in French River, a community near Greater Sudbury.
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
A London, Ont. jury heard evidence on Tuesday of how the children involved in a case of sexual abuse eventually fled their home and contacted police.
Deputy mayor Shawn Lewis sent colleagues a series of photographs taken of London Transit’s #7 bus travelling towards Clarke Road Secondary School on Tuesday morning. He supplied them as evidence that there’s enough unused capacity to fit more high school students on board.
A fire at a paper straw company occurred Tuesday night.
Duckworth Street will be closed between Howard Crescent and Melrose Avenue for construction.
Youth Haven is in the fundraising stage to reach their goal of $2 million to build a new residence.
Canada Border Services Agency is reminding all private boaters of their entry and reporting obligations when navigating Canadian waters or entering Canada by boat.
A Windsor man sought for attempted murder has been named as one of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
A pair of U.S. travellers trying to enter Canada at the Ambassador Bridge were refused entry and handed a fine.
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Bradley Smith has been electric skateboarding for the past nine years, a passion he says was "addictive" from the first time he tried it.
Search and rescue crews have been called in after a vehicle belonging to a missing senior was located near a rural intersection outside of Kelowna Tuesday.
Major crime detectives in British Columbia are investigating a suspected homicide after a body was found in a remote area southeast Kelowna over the weekend.
A banana ball python that was stolen from a Kelowna pet store on Saturday has been returned unharmed, Mounties said.
Wildfires in Alberta and B.C. appear to be getting off to an early start this year. Both province's wildfire services are doing what they can to prepare for what's expected to be a tough summer.
An assault over property at a Lethbridge encampment ended with a man in hospital suffering from a serious head injury.
A southern Alberta woman says she began to hyperventilate when she realized she had won $2 million.
It was a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the OHL playoffs for the Soo Greyhounds on Tuesday night in Saginaw.
A 43-year-old woman has been charged with stunt driving following an incident on Highway 17 in Terrace Bay on Sunday.
Police on Manitoulin Island are looking for an 'armed and dangerous' man following an incident involving a firearm on Friday.
Uber Technologies Inc. says it has brought its ridesharing platform to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Newfoundlander Christian Sparkes has shot several films around his home province, but with his new psychological thriller 'The King Tide' he saw an opportunity to wander into one unique town that had eluded him over the years.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says two people were found dead and four others survived after a boat capsized off the west coast of Newfoundland.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
