WASHINGTON — A person experiencing homelessness was found dead after police believe he was beaten by another man using a pipe in the Ellipse Park near the White House and the Washington Monument Wednesday morning, authorities said.
Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Secret Service, and Park Police officers were called to the scene to investigate.
An officer with the U.S. Secret Service was flagged down by a jogger who pointed him in the direction of a man they thought needed medical attention in the area of the Ellipse just before 9 a.m., officials said.
The officer responded to the scene in the 200 block of 15th Street in Northwest D.C. and found the body of a man, Assistant Chief Morgan Kane said in a press conference.
Investigators found surveillance video in the area that showed an altercation had occurred between two homeless men in the same location shortly after 6:30 a.m., officials said.
Police believe the man was assaulted with a metal pipe, which was discovered at the scene. The exact cause of the death is still under investigation, but police said the man who died had sustained multiple trauma injuries to the body.
MPD's homicide unit was called to the scene to investigate. Police say that U.S. Secret Service officers were familiar with two men seen in the video and believed both men were members of the homeless community in D.C.
President Joe Biden took off from the South Lawn of the White House approximately 1,500 feet from the crime scene minutes after the body was discovered.
"Whatever that location is, whether it’s next to the White House, whether it’s east of the Anacostia, wherever that looks like, it’s still tragic," Kane said. "There’s still someone who lost their life. There’s still a family that’s going to be devastated in those circumstanced. Equally devastating."
Investigators identified the person of interest who was seen in the video, Kane said. He was stopped and is currently being questioned by officers.
Both directions of 15th Street Northwest and 200 block of 15th Street Northwest are closed as a result of the investigation.
DC Police are the lead agency handling the investigation. This murder marks the third homicide in the District of 2023. The investigation remains ongoing.