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Chief: Gunman ‘tried to assassinate’ 2 DC volunteer officers

The officers were not injured after a man fired multiple rounds at their parked patrol vehicle

Police1 Staff

WASHINGTON — A gunman fired at two reserve Washington D.C. police officers patrolling in a cruiser Thursday afternoon.

NBC4 reports the shots fired around 4 p.m. Thursday did not hit the officers but did strike a police vehicle. The officers were sitting in their car in the parking lot of a shopping center when the gunman fired.

Chief Peter Newsham told The Washington Post authorities believe the gunman fired from a treeline near the shopping center.

“It looks like he tried to assassinate a couple of our police officers,” he said at the scene. “Thankfully the police officers were not struck. None of our officers fired a shot.”

After the rounds were fired, the reserve officers saw muzzle flashes from the woods and radioed for assistance while taking cover, Newsham told The Washington Post. Authorities later took the man into custody and recovered a firearm.

Newsham praised his department’s quick response to the shooting

“Their actions today are really heroic,” Newsham told The Washington Post. “The actions of the officers who responded to the scene was incredibly heroic to take this guy into custody.”

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