Washington DC

Man Killed, 8 Other People Shot in Columbia Heights

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One man died and eight other people were injured Sunday when three men opened fire on a busy street in D.C.'s Columbia Heights neighborhood, police say.

Devin Peterson of Northeast D.C. died after he was shot. He was 28.

D.C. Chief of Police Peter Newsham said three men jumped out of a car and started shooting just before 5 p.m. at the intersection of 14th Street and Spring Road NW. Two of the men had long guns and one had a pistol, the police chief said.

A total of eight men and one woman were shot. Two of the victims remained in serious condition on Sunday evening; the other six had non-life-threatening injuries.

Newsham said the shooting was not random and was part of an ongoing dispute between neighborhood crews.

"It's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous that anybody would do that in our community. It's insane," he said. "I don't know what people are thinking if they think they can enter a block and lay down that many rounds. They're putting everybody in this community in jeopardy."

Mayor Muriel Bowser said city residents should be outraged.

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"Everyone should be outraged that in the daytime, when people are frequenting our restaurants, frequenting our businesses, that there could be an attack on a D.C. street," she said.

Police are still searching for the shooters. Investigators have already collected surveillance video from nearby businesses and some of the victims also were known to law enforcement, Newsham said.

The police chief said the justice system needs to hold shooters accountable. Many gun crimes are committed by repeat offenders, he said.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to contact police. A reward of as much as $25,000 is offered.

Stay with News4 and NBCWashington.com for updates to this developing story.

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