6-year-old girl killed in mass shooting in Washington DC

A 6-year-old girl was killed and five adults were injured in a mass shooting in southeast Washington, DC on Friday night, police said.

Officers heard gunshots at around 11:10 p.m. and when they responded, a group of people ran towards them, police said.

A 6-year-old girl was killed, Deputy Police Chief Ashan Benedict said, adding that three men and two women were also injured. Their injuries are not life threatening, he said.

“We are responding to too many calls from children affected by gunfire,” he said, and asked for the public’s help with any information.

Police did not provide any details about the suspect and said they were looking for video and witnesses and that further details of the shooting were not immediately available.

Washington, DC saw 198 homicides in 2020, a 19% increase from the previous year when there were 166, according to police statistics. Last year was the third year in a row that homicides had increased, data showed.

Shootings and homicides are also on the rise in other cities across the country.

President Joe Biden’s administration said law enforcement teams were launched in five cities, including Washington, DC, to target the trafficking corridors that send guns to those cities last month.