WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – Authorities say a 15-year-old kid was killed and 3 other people have been injured after someone started shooting in a gathering after an unauthorized music event in Washington, D.C. on Sunday night.
According to NBC NEWS, the 3 wounded victims, involving a Metropolitan Police Department official, were stabilized in hospital facilities. Chief Robert J. Contee III stated that the cop was shot in the leg.
According to Contee, the shooting was carried out by a single person who was not in detention and opened fire while police were obviously present. He made no mention of the officer being singled out, instead remarking on how packed the street was.
Authorities say the violence occurred at 14th and U streets Northwest. It was close to a festival named Moechella, which promotes go-go, a music genre that began in Washington and is still renowned today.
Authorities stated something prompted individuals to flee the concert earlier, and several were harmed, according to police. The concert was stopped at that moment, according to Contee, although he also stated that spectators remained in the neighborhood.
According to Contee, officials were in large numbers monitoring the event and its repercussions, with more than 100 policemen assigned to the area.
Justin Johnson, better known as Yaddiya, the founder of Moechella, did not respond to a request for comment. He’s a well-known artist, activist, and promoter of the “go-go” movement. “Long Live GoGo: The Movement,” a photo book he helped assemble last year, was produced as a celebration of the rhythmic sound.
The event is well-known in the music community, and it was featured in City Paper, the city’s alternative weekly newspaper, on Thursday. A federal agency, the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency, is listed as a supporter on a Moechella flier. The agency’s representative did not respond to requests for comment.
Robert White, a member of the D.C. Council stated he marched alongside Johnson during a Black Lives Matter rally in June 2020, emphasizing that Johnson is the head of the Long Live GoGo group linked with Moechella.
It’s unclear whether the unidentified adolescent who died later in the shooting was the intended target. According to Chief Contee, packed streets and sidewalks, as well as an abundance of weaponry, set the environment for such bloodshed.
Multiple illicit guns were seized by cops in the neighborhood on Sunday, he said.
According to Contee, police will investigate the event’s origins and why it was allegedly allowed to take place without official consent.
Mayor Muriel Bowser was taken aback by the shooter’s brazen behavior in the presence of officers.
