It happened quickly – dozens of shots fired in rapid succession shortly before 4 p.m. on Friday, April 22nd. Reports came in of two, three, then four people wounded in and around Edmund Burke School, including a 12-year-old child. Hours passed with area residents, students, and Van Ness workers told to shelter in place until police gave the all-clear.
While police say they believe the deceased 23-year-old suspect, Raymond Spencer, acted alone, there’s still a lot investigators don’t know – including why.
Here is some of what we do know, based on news conferences and reporting since Friday:
At a news conference Monday, MPD Police Chief Robert Contee said Spencer fired more than 200 rounds toward Edmund Burke School. Investigators found 800 unspent rounds in his apartment at AVA Van Ness, 1,000 rounds more at another apartment he rented in Fairfax, and firearms or firearms parts at both locations. (WAMU/DCist)
His motives were still unknown. MPD had not found evidence connecting him to Burke.
As of Monday evening, two of the four people shot remained hospitalized in critical condition. (Washington Post)
Burke School students sheltering inside tried to comfort and calm one another. (Washington Post) UDC, Howard University Law School and Hearst Elementary were also locked down for several hours.
Local businesses took care of some of the students who had fled the school but could not leave the lockdown area. Van Ness Wines and Liquors was among those sheltering Burke students. (ABC7).
A group of 6th graders from Edmund Burke School in DC is sheltered in a liquor store as police investigate a shooting nearby. Metropolitan Police Department says there are at least three victims — two men and a girl. (📷: Matthew Torres/WUSA9)
The latest: https://t.co/AgRsnFApFM pic.twitter.com/WLiwubdUXK
— WUSA9 (@wusa9) April 22, 2022
Medium Rare delivered food to Burke families at the Cleveland Park Library, which served as a reunification center.
JUST IN: Students from the Burke School are finally being reunited w/ their families at the Cleveland Park Library.
VIDEO CREDIT ➖ @RamirezReportspic.twitter.com/v9LcyQidxf
— Sierra Fox (@thesierrafox) April 23, 2022
Burke School was closed Monday for a “day of recovery.” (WUSA9)
A young woman who lived next door to the suspected shooter at AVA Van Ness said she did not know him. But she had ties with a violent incident in the neighborhood on Wednesday. Her boyfriend was the 19-year-old shot and killed by Secret Service police outside the Peruvian ambassadors’ residence on the 3000 block of Garrison Street NW. (Fox 5)
ANC 3F, which hosted a public meeting Monday evening with MPD’s Second District commander, announced the launch of public safety task force and other “next steps.”