An officer with the U.S. Park Police was hospitalized after being shot in the shoulder Monday night in D.C. with non-life-threatening injuries.
The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. on Drake Place Southeast, a few blocks from where Benning Road meets Southern Avenue in the Marshall Heights neighborhood, near the Maryland border.
U.S. Park Police Chief Scott Brecht said in a news briefing that the unidentified officer was “ambushed” by two gunmen who fired at the officer as he drove by in an unmarked vehicle.
The officer had been driving an unmarked white Tesla and was working in the area during a U.S. Park Police investigation.
After the shooting, the officer continued driving and received first aid from other officers before being airlifted by a U.S. Park Police helicopter to a hospital.
In a post on X, U.S. Park Police said the injured officer was released from the hospital Tuesday morning.
U.S. Park Police Capt. James Dingeldein said the suspects may have known he was an officer.
“We do have some indications, they did know he was a police officer, but that’ll all be part of the ongoing investigation as relates to the actual shooting incident,” Dingledein said.
No suspects are in custody. Police described the suspects as two Black males, one wearing a white hoodie with blue jeans, the other in all black with a white stripe down the sleeve and down the pant leg.
U.S. Park Police had been investigating an earlier incident in the area when the shooting happened, Brecht said.
“This is an example of unnecessary gun violence in our city. There’s no reason that anybody, a police officer, not a police officer, should be shot just for being out here driving through the neighborhood,” Jeffery Carroll, interim chief of D.C. police, said at a news conference. He added that the officer was targeted.
A neighbor told WTOP news partner 7News that he heard at least a dozen gunshots when police were on the scene.
“Our prayers are with the officer for a quick recovery and we are grateful for all our law enforcement officers and first responders for their quick response,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a social media post.
“I’ve spoken to Mayor Bowser and Police Chief Carroll and was briefed on the shooting,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a posting on X.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in his own X post that he was “Praying for the Park Police officer shot in Washington, D.C. The FBI is actively supporting the investigation alongside our law enforcement partners and will bring those responsible to justice.”
Federal officials said they were assisting in the investigation, which is being led by D.C. police. Anyone with information is asked to contact them at 202-727-9099.
A map of the area where the shooting took place is below.
WTOP’s Matt Small and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported the shooting happened on Friday evening. It has been corrected to Monday.
