WASHINGTON — A D.C. man says a celebration with his daughter turned into a flight for their lives after someone opened fire near them Friday night.
According to Bashon Mann, he and his 14-year-old daughter Sabine were on their way home from a team banquet celebrating her volleyball season when they heard gunshots near the 3500 block of Minnesota Ave SE in D.C.
A Navy veteran, Mann's training kicked in.
"I grabbed my daughter...put her head on the center console," he said. "When I heard...a pause in the gunshots, I gunned it and just drove as fast as I could."
The Metropolitan Police Department confirms that shot spotter technology detected three gunshots in the area around 9 p.m.
Officers responded, but didn't find any shooters or anyone who was hurt.
Mann and his daughter, Sabine, weren't hit, but a night of celebration had become a nightmare.
"I was in the Navy for 22 years so...regrettably, I'm in a situation where I'm familiar with wartime practice," said Mann. "That doesn't mean that it should happen here in DC."
Like so many others, he's frustrated with the violence in the city and is asking parents to step up.
"It starts at home," said Mann. "What do we want our children to know? What do we want our children to experience?"
He's also calling on city leaders to make things safer. Residents across the city, he says, must help them.
"We can do better," he said. "I want better for this city."
According to the latest DC Police statistics, there have been more than 1,200 assaults with a dangerous weapon in the District so far this year. That's actually a fifteen percent decrease from this time last year.