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| Girl’s condition improves after shooting that rattles her D.C. neighborhood | Girl’s condition improves after shooting that rattles her D.C. neighborhood |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Residents of a Southeast D.C. neighborhood rejoiced Sunday to hear that a 7-year-old girl hit by a stray bullet Friday night had been upgraded to fair condition, even as new details emerged about the terrifying incident that had neighbors urging city officials to mount a more urgent response to crime in the area. | Residents of a Southeast D.C. neighborhood rejoiced Sunday to hear that a 7-year-old girl hit by a stray bullet Friday night had been upgraded to fair condition, even as new details emerged about the terrifying incident that had neighbors urging city officials to mount a more urgent response to crime in the area. |
| “We’re now experiencing almost a death a week in this particular area,” said Paul Trantham, an Advisory Neighborhood Commission member who lives a few blocks from the 2900 block of Knox Place, where the girl was struck while coming home from dinner with her family. “It’s ridiculous. We keep seeing the same pattern over and over.” | |
| Trantham said he and other neighborhood leaders had been in touch with D.C. police officials, including Chief Cathy L. Lanier, about the need for a bigger police presence in the area, even before Friday’s shooting. | Trantham said he and other neighborhood leaders had been in touch with D.C. police officials, including Chief Cathy L. Lanier, about the need for a bigger police presence in the area, even before Friday’s shooting. |
| “They all say they understand there’s need for more resources over here, but we don’t see them,” Trantham said. | “They all say they understand there’s need for more resources over here, but we don’t see them,” Trantham said. |
| Trantham said he was particularly disappointed not to see a visible police presence over the weekend near Knox Place and Hartford Street, where Friday’s shooting occurred. | Trantham said he was particularly disappointed not to see a visible police presence over the weekend near Knox Place and Hartford Street, where Friday’s shooting occurred. |
| “It’s like we’re living in Iraq or Iran,” he said. “It’s a battleground, and, yes, the battle is amongst the people who live here, but where’s the chief sending in the cavalry to help the people in the community?” | “It’s like we’re living in Iraq or Iran,” he said. “It’s a battleground, and, yes, the battle is amongst the people who live here, but where’s the chief sending in the cavalry to help the people in the community?” |
| Lanier didn’t respond to a request for comment Sunday. | Lanier didn’t respond to a request for comment Sunday. |
| Police haven’t released the name of the victim, who was airlifted to Children’s National Medical Center, but neighborhood residents identified her father as Antonio Ivey. Officials released no additional information Sunday, but witnesses described a harrowing scene. | Police haven’t released the name of the victim, who was airlifted to Children’s National Medical Center, but neighborhood residents identified her father as Antonio Ivey. Officials released no additional information Sunday, but witnesses described a harrowing scene. |
| Arlene Mobley, whose apartment overlooks Hartford Street, said she saw a young girl with her father and younger brother Friday night walking toward Knox Place. She recognized them as a family she sees regularly and had nicknamed the “homely” family because “they are so tight.” | Arlene Mobley, whose apartment overlooks Hartford Street, said she saw a young girl with her father and younger brother Friday night walking toward Knox Place. She recognized them as a family she sees regularly and had nicknamed the “homely” family because “they are so tight.” |
| “The father is always holding the kids’ hands,” said Mobley, 57. | “The father is always holding the kids’ hands,” said Mobley, 57. |
| Moments later, Mobley heard three gunshots and screaming, and she looked out to see the family running. Soon, she heard the sound of screeching wheels but didn’t see the vehicle. | Moments later, Mobley heard three gunshots and screaming, and she looked out to see the family running. Soon, she heard the sound of screeching wheels but didn’t see the vehicle. |
| “My son got killed, and I know that scream,” said Mobley, who said her son was fatally shot in 2010. When she saw that the little girl had been shot, she collapsed, she said. | “My son got killed, and I know that scream,” said Mobley, who said her son was fatally shot in 2010. When she saw that the little girl had been shot, she collapsed, she said. |
| According to police reports, the family, who live in the neighborhood, had parked their car on the street and were walking near a three-story brick apartment building at 2926 Knox Pl. when the shooting occurred about 9:45 p.m. A person fired four shots, striking the girl in the abdomen and shattering the rear window of a nearby car, authorities said. | According to police reports, the family, who live in the neighborhood, had parked their car on the street and were walking near a three-story brick apartment building at 2926 Knox Pl. when the shooting occurred about 9:45 p.m. A person fired four shots, striking the girl in the abdomen and shattering the rear window of a nearby car, authorities said. |
| Police have not said if they know of a possible motive. | Police have not said if they know of a possible motive. |
| Evette Barnette, 41, was sitting in her ground-floor apartment at Hanover Courts on Hartford Street when she heard the shots. A few minutes later, she heard a commotion in the lobby and a man yelling “Stay with me! Stay with me!” | Evette Barnette, 41, was sitting in her ground-floor apartment at Hanover Courts on Hartford Street when she heard the shots. A few minutes later, she heard a commotion in the lobby and a man yelling “Stay with me! Stay with me!” |
| She went out to find Ivey cradling the little girl, with the younger brother looking on and screaming “My sister!” | She went out to find Ivey cradling the little girl, with the younger brother looking on and screaming “My sister!” |
| “It was just so frantic,” she said Sunday, standing in the entryway that still had blood spattered across the walls and floor. | “It was just so frantic,” she said Sunday, standing in the entryway that still had blood spattered across the walls and floor. |
| Barnette grabbed a towel from her apartment and gave it to Ivey, who applied pressure to his daughter’s torso while they waited for paramedics. Barnette, meanwhile, took the 4-year-old boy into her apartment and sat him in front of the TV with cartoons on. | Barnette grabbed a towel from her apartment and gave it to Ivey, who applied pressure to his daughter’s torso while they waited for paramedics. Barnette, meanwhile, took the 4-year-old boy into her apartment and sat him in front of the TV with cartoons on. |
| “The girl was screaming ‘Ow! Daddy!’” Barnette said. | “The girl was screaming ‘Ow! Daddy!’” Barnette said. |
| The neighborhood was still in an edgy mood two days after the incident, and those that have come before. The sidewalks on Knox Place and Hartford Street are peppered with graffiti memorials to residents previously killed in a neighborhood all too familiar with gun violence. “RIP Gus,” one says in black spray paint. | The neighborhood was still in an edgy mood two days after the incident, and those that have come before. The sidewalks on Knox Place and Hartford Street are peppered with graffiti memorials to residents previously killed in a neighborhood all too familiar with gun violence. “RIP Gus,” one says in black spray paint. |
| Police asked for information from residents, but few Sunday were willing to talk about the event. Activists said the public’s reluctance to share information is making the crime problem worse. | Police asked for information from residents, but few Sunday were willing to talk about the event. Activists said the public’s reluctance to share information is making the crime problem worse. |
| A 27-year-old woman who lives in the neighborhood but spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear for her safety and that of her 8-year-old son, said Friday’s shooting made her feel “sick to her stomach.” | A 27-year-old woman who lives in the neighborhood but spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear for her safety and that of her 8-year-old son, said Friday’s shooting made her feel “sick to her stomach.” |
| “My son could have been out here,” she said. “It could have been anybody’s kid.” | “My son could have been out here,” she said. “It could have been anybody’s kid.” |
| Trantham, who spent part of Sunday talking to people near the scene of the shooting, said people don’t feel safe enough to share what they know. He pointed out that there was no visible police presence even so soon after another barrage of gunfire. | Trantham, who spent part of Sunday talking to people near the scene of the shooting, said people don’t feel safe enough to share what they know. He pointed out that there was no visible police presence even so soon after another barrage of gunfire. |
| “You see not one police car in this vicinity, even after this,” he said. “And you wonder why people won’t say anything. They don’t feel protected by the police.” | “You see not one police car in this vicinity, even after this,” he said. “And you wonder why people won’t say anything. They don’t feel protected by the police.” |
| He wants to see a more constant presence of officers and patrol cars at hot spots such as Knox Place and Green Street SE, where three teenage girls were wounded by gunfire this month. | |
| The little girl’s shooting was at least the third time a juvenile was struck by gunfire in the District in recent weeks. | The little girl’s shooting was at least the third time a juvenile was struck by gunfire in the District in recent weeks. |
| A 6-year-old boy was shot twice in the arm Wednesday night in Northeast, near the Prince George’s County line, after police said two people forced open the front door of his apartment and fired shots. Police said the incident was related to a neighbor dispute. | A 6-year-old boy was shot twice in the arm Wednesday night in Northeast, near the Prince George’s County line, after police said two people forced open the front door of his apartment and fired shots. Police said the incident was related to a neighbor dispute. |
| On March 26, 15-year-old Davonte Washington was fatally shot while he waited for a train on the platform of the Deanwood Metro station in Northeast. Police said he was on his way to get a haircut for Easter with his mother and two younger sisters when another teen approached him. | On March 26, 15-year-old Davonte Washington was fatally shot while he waited for a train on the platform of the Deanwood Metro station in Northeast. Police said he was on his way to get a haircut for Easter with his mother and two younger sisters when another teen approached him. |
| Friday night’s shooting occurred just a few hundred feet from a police station. | Friday night’s shooting occurred just a few hundred feet from a police station. |
| Diamond Jackson, 23, who was walking along Knox Place on Sunday, said the recent violence has gotten so bad that she no longer feels safe having her 6-year-old son play outside. “I don’t even want him sitting outside on the porch,” she said. “Bullets don’t have names on them. Anybody can get hit anytime, anywhere.” | Diamond Jackson, 23, who was walking along Knox Place on Sunday, said the recent violence has gotten so bad that she no longer feels safe having her 6-year-old son play outside. “I don’t even want him sitting outside on the porch,” she said. “Bullets don’t have names on them. Anybody can get hit anytime, anywhere.” |
| Angie Card, 48, is the treasurer of the tenants’ association at Hanover Courts. “I never feel safe around here,” she said. Card said crews from different neighborhoods are always targeting one another in the area around her apartment. “It’s called the ‘hood war,” she said. | |
| She, along with other residents of the apartment complex where the girl was shot, are trying to raise money for her and her family. So far they have raised $62. | She, along with other residents of the apartment complex where the girl was shot, are trying to raise money for her and her family. So far they have raised $62. |
| Peter Hermann contributed to this report. | Peter Hermann contributed to this report. |