Four police officers were injuredthree of them shot, in Washington this Wednesday when investigated complaints of animal abuse in a houseauthorities reported.
The officers are expected to survive and are being treated in hospitals after the shooting in the US capital, the Metropolitan Police said in a press release posted online.
The fourth police officer’s wounds were not gunshot wounds, the force added.
The attacker was still barricaded inside a home in the city’s southeast hours after shooting at officers, a police spokeswoman said.
The officers had gone to the home to make an arrest for abuse animalbut the suspect refused to come out. When the officers tried to enter the house, the person began shooting.
All three officers suffered gunshot wounds to the hand and foot, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said.
Crisis negotiators are speaking with the suspect, said Smith, who said she has sought to get lawmakers to approve tougher penalties for gun crimes in the nation’s capital.
The police union said three of its members had been shot and were taken to area hospitals. It was not clear whether the person who fired the shots was the subject of the arrest warrant that the police had.
Authorities closed several streets and several schools suspended classes in the southeastern sector of the city, and police called on the community to stay away from the area.
“This shooting is yet another painful reminder of the havoc caused armed violence to our families, our communities and, obviously, to the nation,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. She added that President Joe Biden is praying for the speedy recovery of police officers and called for Congress to take action to combat gun violence.
The event occurs at a time when The District of Columbia sees a sharp increase in violent crimewhich increased by 39 percent in 2023. This included a 35 percent increase in homicides and an increase in violent vehicle theft, which almost doubled.
