A 6-year-old girl was killed and five adults were wounded in a mass shooting in southeast Washington, D.C., late Friday, police said.
Officers heard the sound of gunfire at around 11:10 p.m. and when they responded, a group of people ran toward them, police said.
A 6-year-old girl was killed, police Executive Assistant Chief Ashan Benedict said, adding that three men and two women were also wounded. Their injuries were not life threatening, he said.
"We're responding to too many calls of children being affected by gunfire," he said, and he asked for help from the public for any information.
Police did not provide any details about the suspect and said they were looking for video and witnesses and Further details about the shooting were not immediately available.
Washington, D.C. saw 198 homicides in 2020, a 19 percent increase from the previous year when there were 166, according to police statistics. Last year was the third year in a row that homicides had increased, according the data showed.
Shootings and homicides are also up in other cities across the country.
President Joe Biden's administration said law enforcement teams were being launched to five cities, including Washington, D.C., to target trafficking corridors that send guns to those cities, last month.
