The fatal shooting that caused chaos in a busy area of downtown D.C. Thursday evening was caught on surveillance video. News4’s Mark Segraves reports.
A man was shot and killed in a busy area of downtown D.C. Thursday evening, and police shot a suspect and took him into custody.
The killing and police shootout closed several blocks for hours.
The man who died, 29-year-old Terence Dantzler, was shot multiple times by 20-year-old Jaykell Mason in the 700 block of 8th Street NW just after 5 p.m., police said. Schoolchildren were walking in the area with chaperones.
Surveillance video shows the suspect approaching the victim and shooting him in front of Calvary Baptist Church, just north of the National Portrait Gallery.
"For someone to do that at 5 o'clock in the afternoon in this part of town is pretty brazen," D.C. police chief Peter Newsham said.
Dantzler was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Police said he had no fixed address.
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Witnesses flagged down officers who chased Mason on foot. In the 700 block of 10th Street NW, west of the central library building, at least two officers exchanged gunfire with him, striking him in the hand or arm, police said. Mason fired as many as 10 shots while running through traffic, according to charging documents.
He continued to run to the 1000 block of H Street NW, near City Center and the Grand Hyatt Washington.
Another officer confronted Mason, of Southeast D.C., and got him to drop his gun, police said. The officer was able to arrest him. He was treated for "a non-life-threatening gunshot wound," police said, and charged with first-degree murder while armed, assault on an officer while armed and carrying a pistol without a license.
He admitted being at the scene but denied having anything to do with the shooting, police said.
Someone who knew Dantzler said he frequented the area and did not cause trouble.
The officers involved were placed on administrative leave, per police department policy. Their body cameras were on at the time and the footage is under review, police said.
Another police-involved shooting took place at 7th and Varnum streets NW in Petworth, police said. Police went to the area for a report of shots about 5:45 p.m. and found a man with a handgun in the 4200 block of 7th Street NW. The man pointed the gun at officers, and the officers shot at him, police said.
The man fled, and officers chased him on foot. There was an exchange of gunfire between the man and officers, police said.
The man was struck by multiple gunshots in the 700 block of Varnum Street NW, police said. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
He was identified as 36-year-old Douglas Maiden and is charged with assault on a police officer while armed and carrying a pistol without a license.
One officer suffered a non-life-threatening injury and was treated at a hospital, police said.
Anyone with information on either case is asked to contact police.
