Gunman opens fire in Washington DC

A gunman opened fire at random victims before taking his own life at an upscale neighborhood in Washington DC on Friday afternoon. The incident occurred at the Connecticut Avenue-Van Ness neighborhood, where multiple schools and embassies are located. 

The 23-year-old shooter was initially identified from a video he had posted on social media that appeared to show gunshots fired from the vantage point of an upper floor window. 

Police said two adults and a 12-year-old had to be taken to the hospital. Another individual with a graze wound to the back was treated at the scene.

What the police have found so far

"The suspect that we believe is responsible for this is now deceased," Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said at a news conference Friday night.

"His intent was to kill and hurt members of our community," Contee added, saying that a motive had not been determined yet.

He told reporters the four victims were shot at random as "they were going about their business... on the streets of the District of Columbia."

Police managed to pinpoint the gunman's position to the fifth floor of a "particular apartment building" and ultimately "breached the location where the suspect took his own life," Contee said.

More than half a dozen firearms were seized, including several rifles, and large amounts of ammunition in the apartment, which had been arranged in a "sniper-type setup" with a tripod weapons mount, the chief said.

Photographs shared by the police on Twitter showed three assault-style rifles with scopes laying on a table with a tripod in the background as well as a single handgun.

Contee said the weapons were possibly obtained illegally, based on preliminary information. 

"Right now, the police have secured the area, and it's safe, but the fact that this type of chaos can be caused by a maniac on a regular Friday... The kids were about to get out of school," Deaven Rector, a local student who heard the gunshots, told Reuters.

As for the video posted on social media "It looks very much to be authentic," Contee said, adding that it still needs to be forensically confirmed.

The shooting comes a little over a week after a gunman opened fire on a New York City subway.

tg/aw (AFP, Reuters)