Another mass shooting has taken place, this time in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington D.C.
According to the Washington Post, the gunfire started on Wednesday (March 31) at 1:30 pm about a block away from the Congress Height Metro Station. Police responding to calls about the incident arrived moments later and discovered a few people who suffered from gunshot wounds. Two individuals reportedly died at the scene of the crime. Another four people, two of whom are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, were transported to hospitals nearby, per Fire and Emergency Medical Services department Spokesman Vito Maggiolo.
“As a commissioner, honestly this is brutally toxic. Traumatized. Heartbroken,” Congress Heights ANC Commissioner Shekita McBroom told local news station WUS9.
The Congress Heights incident is the third mass shooting this month. The first took place at different massage parlors in Atlanta and resulted in the deaths of eight people, including six Asian women. Suspect Robert Aaron Long — who said he targeted the spas because of his sex addiction — was arrested and charged with eight counts of murder and aggravated assault.
Days later, the Colorado shooting suspect was indicted on charges for killing 10 people in Boulder. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa reportedly started shooting in the parking lot of a King Soopers grocery store before moving inside the building. He is facing 10 counts of first-degree murder in addition to one attempted murder charge. His motive in the shooting is not clear, but his defense believes his mental illness may have played a role in the case.
In the wake of the Atlanta and Boulder shooting, former president Barack Obama called for stricter gun control laws.
“In a normal life, we should be able to buy groceries without fear. We should be able to go to school, or go out with our friends or worship together without mentally planning our escape if someone shows up with a gun … But in America, we can’t,” he said.
“But we can make it harder for those with hate in their hearts to buy weapons of war. We can overcome opposition by cowardly politicians and the pressure of a gun lobby that opposes any limit on the ability of anyone to assemble an arsenal. We can, and we must.”
As of now, no suspects have been named in connection with the shooting. D.C. police, however, are offering $25,000 for information regarding the case.