In separate incidents in the nation’s capital, an 8-year old girl and a 5-year old boy were struck and injured by gunfire.  The news report also describes recent Washington, DC incidents in which 11-year old Davon McNeal and 17-year old Christopher Brown were struck and killed by gunfire. In each of these incidents, the victim was an innocent bystander.

The 8-year old was caught in the crossfire of an incident in which as many 40-rounds were fired.  She was taken to a local hospital and will be OK according to the report.

The 5-year old was walking to the grocery with his mother when he was struck in the abdomen during an attempted robbery.  He is in stable condition at the hospital.

D.C. police chief Peter Newsham said, “”And I think that both of the cases… indicate we gotta do something about these guys who feel like it’s OK to indiscriminately fire guns in our community. A mother and her 5-year-old son ought to be able to walk to the grocery store without her having to take her son to the hospital.”

Source:

Elliot Henney and Jay Korff, “5-year-old Boy, 8-year-old Girl Shot Within 24 hours in Southeast D.C.,”  7 WJLA (August 21, 2020).