WASHINGTON – Police in Washington were investigating what prompted a guy with “sniper-type” armament to shoot passers-by from an apartment block, as well as whether a violent video the perpetrator allegedly recorded during the event was genuine.
The terrifying incident in an upscale area left four individuals injured. As highly armed officers in tactical gear broke into his fifth-floor flat, the guy identified as the shooter killed himself, authorities said.
They discovered him surrounded by a half-dozen firearms, including long rifles with scopes and at least one handgun, as well as a large amount of ammunition and what seemed to be a “sniper-type” tripod. The firearms appeared to have been obtained legally, according to police
A 54-year-old male and a woman in her 30s, both in critical but stable condition, as well as a lightly wounded 12-year-old daughter, were the victims of the seemingly indiscriminate attack.
One woman was injured on the shoulder but did not need to be taken to the hospital.
The shooting occurred in front of a prestigious local school, throwing a northwest Washington neighbourhood into disarray and separating pupils from their frightened parents for hours.
“Unfortunately, tonight, I gazed into the eyes of parents who were afraid,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said late Friday.
“This epidemic of gun violence in our society, the easy availability of firearms, needs to end.”
Police had earlier named Raymond Spencer, 23, of Fairfax, Virginia as a person of interest based on social media posts that seemed to link him to the carnage.
Without explicitly confirming his role, they later said the threat had ended and police were no longer seeking Spencer.
‘Shooting randomly’
Little so far is known about the shooter.
“It appears this person was shooting randomly at anyone who was out there,” Police Chief Robert Contee told reporters.
It was unclear whether the private Edmund Burke School directly across Van Ness Street from the shooter’s apartment was his primary target.
“We will find out what the motive is,” Contee said.
Officers said authorities were studying internet posts by a Raymond Spencer, including one posted minutes after the shooting began, that said “Dear God please forgive me,” the Washington Post reported.
A message uploaded 12 minutes later stated, “Waiting for police to catch up with me.”
Authorities were also looking into a gruesome video posted on Friday that looked to have been shot from the assailant’s perspective, according to Contee. It shows many people fleeing for cover as long bursts of rapid gunfire were fired at them.
The video “seems very much to be legitimate,” according to the police chief, who added that it needed to be forensically authenticated.
The attack occurred little over a week after a shooter opened fire on a subway in New York City, hurting 23 people.
For longtime Washington residents, the notion of a sniper-style attack revived chilling memories of the 2002 shooting spree by two snipers — stealthily firing from a hole in a car trunk — that left 10 people dead and terrorized the metropolitan area for weeks.
