Police are investigating after a 12-year-old girl was hit by a bullet while inside her home Tuesday night.
A 12-year-old girl is hurt after she was hit by a bullet from an outdoor shooting while inside her home on Tuesday night in Southeast D.C., police say.
The victim was treated at a hospital and was in stable condition, police said.
Officers responded to an apartment building in the 3000 block of 30th Street SE at about 9 p.m. and found the girl shot in a bedroom, D.C. police said. The location is north of Suitland Parkway, near the D.C.-Maryland line.
Detectives believe the shooter meant to target someone on the street, not the child inside.
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“It's appalling. It's devastating to know that she was in her home and shot, a 12-year-old victim, any victim,” D.C. police Cmdr. Lashay Makal said “But we're asking — I repeat my message from earlier — we're asking people, anybody, not just information in reference to this case, but we definitely need to get these guns off the street. So, anyone with any information in reference to illegal firearms, please contact us.”
Police said they have a person of interest in custody and recovered a weapon. They are asking anyone with potentially relevant information to come forward.
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Violent crime is up in D.C. by 37% this year so far, with 2,175 reports last year and 2,982 this year, crime statistics show.
The District's next police chief, Pamela Smith, who Mayor Muriel Bowser named last week, said her top priority is to drive down crime.
This is a developing story. Stay with News4 for more updates.
