A man committed suicide as he was about to be arrested on Friday after shooting and wounding four people and triggering a spectacular deployment of security forces in an affluent neighborhood of Washington, police said. Four people, including a 12-year-old girl, were injured by gunfire on Friday afternoon in the Connecticut Avenue-Van ness district, in the northwest of the American capital, where many embassies and schools are located.
Three of the injured, taken to hospital, are in stable condition. The fourth victim, in his 60s, was treated at the scene. “The suspect we believe to be responsible for this is now deceased,” Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said Friday night at a press conference.
According to him, the individual killed himself when the police had just burst into his apartment, located on the fifth floor of a building, in which the investigators discovered “a sniper-type device with a tripod”, at least six firearms – including scoped assault rifles – and “many, many ammunition”. The shooter’s motive remains unknown, but “obviously his intent was to kill and injure members of our community,” the police chief added.
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