A woman and two men were stabbed blocks from the White House early Wednesday morning following election night, D.C. police say.
D.C. police said the victims identified themselves as members of a far-right group that supports President Donald Trump, the Proud Boys. Police later said they were unable to verify the victims' affiliations.
Police said the people who were stabbed “claimed that the suspects were Black Lives Matters protesters.” Police also said that they had no way of knowing that for sure. News4 was not immediately able to confirm those claims. No arrests were made.
Black Lives Matter DC blasted police's initial statement as "premature" and called for an independent investigation.
If the victims were attacked because of their affiliation, hate crime charges could be possible, Chief of Police Peter Newsham said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Any affiliations of the victims and suspects are still under investigation.
D.C. police initially said one woman was stabbed in the lower body and three men also were injured. Later, police said a woman and only two men were hurt. It wasn't immediately clear why the number changed.
The stabbing victims were in an altercation with three suspects near the intersection of 14th Street and New York Avenue Northwest at about 2:25 a.m., police say.
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The victims were taken to a D.C. hospital for treatment, police say. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening, police say.
Police said they were searching for the three suspects, two men and a woman.
Police said the attack was captured on a livestream on social media.
The crime scene is a few blocks east of the White House and about six blocks from Black Lives Matter Plaza, the center of D.C.'s largest election night gathering. It wasn't clear if the stabbing or suspects had any connection to demonstrations.
The police chief said he was “very pleased” that demonstrations near the White House on Election Night were largely peaceful. He cited “a couple of minor incidents” in which a total of six people were arrested.
D.C. leaders ramped up security around Election Day. All D.C. police officers were scheduled to be on duty.
Anyone with information can contact D.C. police at 202-727-9099.
Stay with News4 for more on this developing story
