An armed man was shot and killed by a D.C. police officer in Northeast Washington on Monday night, a police official said. The man had struggled with the officer and disregarded orders not to reach for his gun, the police said.
The shooting occurred about 8 p.m. near 47th Place and Nash Street, just east of the Deanwood Metro station. It was the second fatal shooting by a D.C. police officer in four days.
The man who was killed was not immediately identified.
According to an account provided by Andre Wright, the executive assistant chief for patrol operations with D.C. police, the incident could be traced to a response to complaints made Sunday night by residents of the Deanwood neighborhood. The residents had expressed concern about hearing gunshots, Wright said.
That led to a patrol of the area around the Metrorail station Monday night by D.C. police and federal law enforcement officers. From a car, a D.C. police officer who was part of the patrol spotted a man on 47th Place who appeared to have a gun “tucked in his waistband,” Wright said.
As the officer got out of his car, the man fled. The officer ran after him, calling for him to stop. The man did not halt, but the officer caught up with him in the 1200 block of 47th Place, where there was a brief struggle.
During the struggle, the officer repeatedly ordered the man to raise his hands and not to reach for the gun, Wright said.
But after the man failed to heed numerous commands and reached toward the firearm, Wright said, the officer — who he said had shown “great restraint” during the struggle — shot the man.
The officer was not identified.
It was not clear how many shots the officer fired; it was at least two or three, Wright said.
Police administered emergency medical aid, but the man died, Wright said.
Police posted a photograph of a gun on social media and said it belonged to the man who was shot. It was found at the scene, police said.
The fatal shooting was the second by D.C. police since Friday. Police shot and killed a man in a house on Reservoir Road NW on Friday evening after he lunged at an officer while holding a knife and screwdriver, according to police.
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