Video footage shows the moment a shooter opened fire in a D.C. neighborhood as a group of people ran.
People ducked for cover and a resident said he played dead during the gunfire Wednesday night at Independence Avenue and 15th Street SE, in the Hill East area.
Video obtained by News4 shows someone running, repeatedly shooting and then taking off in the other direction.
Police say one member of the group fired back. No one was hit, but a resident told News4 he was nearly caught in the crossfire.
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“I hit the ground, rolled, hugged a tree, pretended I was dead in the gutter,” Burl Haigwood said.
He was walking to buy a lottery ticket when the gunfire began. Now he said he feels fortunate just to be alive.
“It was lucky. I thought I would be lucky hitting the lottery, but they said, no, you’re not gonna hit the lottery ‘cause you got lucky just to come back home. So, it can happen at any time,” he said.
Another resident was in her car when people began shooting, she told News4. Two of the bullets hit her car.
“I don’t care for guns, and I don’t want bullets flying near me ever. It was not great,” Shannon Fyfe said.
Residents said that while the violence is terrifying and senseless, it’s also not surprising.
“There’s so much violence going on on this earth. It’s a shame you can’t even walk down the street,” Thomas Ford said.
“These last three years have been hectic. If it’s not for work, I don’t come in the District. I live in Virginia,” Johnny Gonzalez said.
D.C. crime statistics for the half-mile radius around the intersection show that in the past year there have been 12 assaults, 85 robberies and 119 stolen vehicles.
Fyfe, whose car was shot, said she wants to see District officials do more.
“I don’t think the city is doing what needs to be done in order to reduce crime, and gun violence in particular,” she said.
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No arrests in the case were immediately announced. News4 reached out to the mayor’s office and police for comment on residents’ frustrations over crime and did not immediately hear back.
