World

Nine shot in Washington DC, including nine-year-old, on Fourth of July holiday

Multiple people were shot in Washington DC (Mike Rudd/WJLA-TV via AP)
Multiple people were shot in Washington DC (Mike Rudd/WJLA-TV via AP) Multiple people were shot in Washington DC (Mike Rudd/WJLA-TV via AP)

Nine people have been shot and wounded, including two juveniles, in Washington, DC, after US Independence Day celebrations, police said.

Shortly before 1am on Wednesday (6am BST), police responded to a report of a shooting on Meade Street in the north-eastern quadrant of the US capital.

Upon their arrival officers discovered multiple shooting victims, including a nine-year-old and a 17-year-old, Assistant Chief of Police Leslie Parsons said.

A dark SUV seen driving through the area stopped and then shot at the victims outside enjoying the July Fourth holiday, Mr Parsons said, calling the shooting “targeted”.

Several victims were transported to local hospitals by emergency services. All the victims suffered non-life threatening injuries, Mr Parsons said. None have been identified.

It was not immediately clear if there was more than one shooter in the vehicle and no arrests have been made.

Shooting debris
Shooting debris Fourth of July fireworks boxes and debris litter Meade Street following the shooting (Luis Urbina/WJLA-TV via AP)

The DC incident is the latest in a string of mass shootings over a violent holiday weekend.

Thirty people were shot, two fatally at a block party in Baltimore early on Sunday. Authorities say many of the shooting victims were under 18.

On Monday night, a gunman in a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia, killing five people and wounding two boys, aged two and 13, before he surrendered to responding officers.

Three people were killed and eight others injured when several men fired indiscriminately into a crowd of hundreds that had gathered in a Texas area following a festival in the area, authorities said.

The shooting in the Fort Worth area of Como happened late on Monday night, about two hours after the annual ComoFest ended.