WASHINGTON -- The unofficial start of summer was a violent one, especially in Southeast Washington, D.C.
Monday afternoon, five people were shot, including a young boy, outside the Barry Farm Recreation Center on Sumner Road.
Police said the victims were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. One man was transported with life-threatening injuries.
Neighborhood Commissioner Rhonda Edward-Hines believes the Barry Farm neighborhood currently being redeveloped is part of the problem. She wants more police patrolling the neighborhood, even though most homes are vacant.
“I don't understand why we still have the crowds we have down here,” Edward-Hines said.
Late Monday, police released a picture of the suspect car pictured leaving the scene.
Crime data from DC Police shows there have been 20 murders in Ward 8 so far this year.
Ward 8 Council member Trayon White said 18 children in Ward 8 have been shot in the last 9 months.
“We can't just stand by and keep letting this happen. The police department, we don't know what their strategy is,” White said.
A few blocks away from the Sumner Road shooting in Ward 8, police were still at the scene of Sunday’s deadly shooting on Wheeler Road.
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15-year-old Maurice Scott was shot and killed while walking to the store.
Police said a gunman got out of the passenger's side of a car and opened fire.
Three other people were shot, including two women and a 9-year-old girl. They were shot in the legs and feet and are expected to survive.
These neighborhoods already had additional police presence. They were identified by police and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office as targets for their Summer Crime Initiative, to reduce violence in high-crime neighborhoods.