Authorities reported that a 15-year-old boy was murdered and three people, including a police officer, were wounded when shooting erupted at an unlawful music event in a nightlife-heavy district of Washington, D.C. on Sunday night.
Moechella, a free street festival near the historically significant intersection of 14th and U Streets Northwest, was shut down by the Metropolitan Police Department due to disturbances, including a fight amongst attendees, earlier in the evening, the police said.
As police and emergency medical personnel cleared the area to treat those injured while fleeing a disturbance, "many people were shot," Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee III stated during a press conference on Sunday night.
According to Chief Contee, the officer who was shot is likely to recover, and the conditions of the two other individuals are stable. He did not indicate whether any suspects were in custody. The facts of the incident were unclear as of late Sunday night, but he stated that police officers did not fire their firearms and suggested that all four victims were shot with the same gun.
Several further persons were hurt by having their legs or ankles trampled as they fled the area, he adde
Chief Contee stated that he wished to guarantee accountability for those who held events without a permit.
"This is one of the reasons we don't want unpermitted events taking place in our city," he said. "Unfortunately, things like this can happen when you have the wrong mix of people, or people who introduce firearms into a situation."
The chief voiced frustration over the number of illegal firearms in the vicinity, stating that cops had discovered several of these weapons earlier in the evening.
"Illegal firearms in the hands of people who should not have them make events like this unsafe for people who just want to enjoy the beautiful weather, who want to enjoy Father's Day, who want to enjoy our city," he said.
The incident took place at a festival characterized by The Washington City Paper as "a free, go-go band-led event full of Black cultural spirit and anti-gentrification passion."
According to the newspaper, the name of the event combines the slang term for friend, "moe," with the name of the music festival Coachella.
Event organizer Justin Johnson, also known as the rapper and activist Yaddiya, could not be reached for comment immediately.
The incident occurred after a string of high-profile gun murders, including two massacres in May: one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two instructors dead; and a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in which a white gunman killed 10 Black people.
This month, a brawl transformed a crowded Philadelphia street into a scene of fear when two guys drew their weapons and began firing madly at each other. By the time the gunfire ceased, three individuals were dead and twelve others were wounded.
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