Police said four people were killed Tuesday — three in a Northeast Washington home and another about an hour later at a carry-out restaurant on North Capitol Street — while officers were busy concluding a daylong barricade incident involving a suspect accused of shooting three cops.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Ramey Kyle didn’t describe the wounds suffered by the three adult victims found inside an apartment just before 8 p.m. in the 5000 block of Jay Street Northeast.
He said Wednesday officers arrived on the scene for a welfare check when they discovered the trio dead inside the apartment. None of the victims were identified by police.
The apartment door was “slightly ajar,” Chief Kyle said, and he added that police were alerted to the deaths by a “concerned citizen.” He didn’t elaborate on the citizen’s connection to the victims.
Multiple news outlets reported that a man and two women were all dead of gunshot wounds.
About an hour later, the shooting broke out inside the North Capitol Street eatery.
Chief Kyle said responding officers found two people, both adults, suffering gunshot wounds.
Police said both were taken to the hospital, where one died overnight. Neither victim was identified.
Two handguns were found at the scene, along with multiple shell casings.
Police said a third gunshot victim self-transported to the hospital and is in critical condition with leg and arm wounds. The third victim wasn’t identified either.
The violence came after a man accused of shooting three police officers Wednesday morning in Southeast barricaded himself in his home and held off officers for 12 hours.
Authorities said Stephen Rattigan, 48, of Southeast, opened fire on officers trying to serve him an arrest warrant on animal cruelty charges.
Three officers suffered injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening. They were shot, respectively, in the hand, ankle and leg. A fourth officer suffered minor injuries not related to the gunshots.
The suspect surrendered around 7:45 p.m., according to authorities, who said they found over 30 dogs in his home once the suspect was taken into custody.
The wounded officers were released from the hospital Thursday.
“It’s a good feeling when we can see our officers walking out of the hospital or even going out in a wheelchair,” Chief Smith said. “One of them shouted out to me, ‘Don’t worry, chief. We’ll be right back.’”