A man was killed and another person was shot near a strip club in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood Thursday night, police said, spurring officers to shut down streets in the busy area.
Stephon Johns, 31, died in the shooting near the intersection of Florida and Connecticut avenues NW, police said.
D.C. police said they believe Johns was targeted and his killers were circling around the area in a silver 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia trying to find him.
When they spotted Johns along Florida Avenue, four people got out of the car and opened fire, killing him and hitting another man who happened to be nearby.
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The second man who was shot nearly died, but is now expected to survive, police said.
"Clearly they wanted to kill this individual that they targeted," Metropolitan Police Department Cmdr. John Haines said. "There’s no regard for anyone else. You know, they were targeting him, clearly someone else got hit, and a lot of other people could’ve been injured in this incident."
The Alfa Romeo Giulia the suspects were in is a luxury vehicle that ranges from about $42,000 to $80,000, and it has yellow brake calibers.
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One of the suspects had an assault rifle and the shooters fired about 50 rounds total.
A nearby store owner described hearing the gunshots.
"There were so many, I wasn’t even able to count how many of the shots fired," the owner said. "I just ran to the back, take cover."
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Metropolitan Police Department.
More than a dozen police and fire vehicles were seen blocking the intersection in the wake of the shooting.
Stay with News4 for continuing coverage.
