Shooting Unfolds In Broad Daylight On Monroe Street

Photo courtesy of Monroe Street Market

By Patrick D. Lewis

A shooting that may have left a man wounded unfolded just feet from campus at one of the busiest times of the day on Saturday left students and other bystanders running for cover. The Catholic University community was not informed of the incident by officials.

At approximately 6:43 pm on Saturday, March 16, D.C. 911 received multiple calls for shots fired at Monroe Street, NE, and 8th Street, NE, the intersection outside of the Brookland Pint restaurant. D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers responded and recovered six shell casings and a live round from the scene; no suspects or victims were found in the area. 

At around 10:22 pm that night, a man walked into the Washington Hospital Center, just west of campus, with a gunshot wound. The man refused to cooperate with police and would not tell them when or where he was shot. Police can not confirm the two incidents are related at this time, but given the close timing and locations of the two scenes, it is possible that the shooting victim was involved in the Monroe Street incident. 

Multiple CUA students were present in the area at the time of the shooting, as were many other residents of the area and patrons at the numerous stores and restaurants nearby, and the eruption of gunfire left people scrambling for cover.

The 5th Police District is investigating the Monroe Street shooting and the 4th District is investigating the walk-in shooting victim (Michigan Avenue is on the border between the two precincts). No suspect information is available at this time.

No CUAlert was issued and no “informational alert” was disseminated by campus safety officials. Daniel Drummond, Catholic University Executive Director of Strategic Communications, provided a statement, which said DPS was not notified of the shooting by MPD and thus could not issue a notification. DPS found out about the incident via social media reports and later confirmed it had happened with MPD, but only well after it happened.

The statement continues, “We are working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that we receive timely notifications impacting the Catholic University community. Safety and security continues to be a priority. We remain committed to providing a campus that is safe, secure, and informed.”

The shooting comes as the city continues to grapple with high crime rates and as university and city officials stress the importance of keeping aware of your surroundings and avoiding troubled areas. However, even well-populated areas like Monroe Street Market can turn into a crime scene, as this incident illustrates.