14-year-old Washington DC robbery suspect found wounded after special police officer shoots at vehicle
Washington DC February 18, 2024
A special police officer trying to stop a 14-year-old robbery suspect shot and wounded the youth as he fled in a vehicle Wednesday afternoon in the NoMa neighborhood of Northeast Washington, according to D.C. police.
The incident occurred about 2:15 p.m. in a parking garage in the 1200 block of First Street NE, near New York Avenue, five blocks north of Union Station.
Police said in a statement that the officer “discharged his firearm and was struck by the suspect’s vehicle.”
Police said the driver sped off and the 14-year-old was located a short time later at a hospital with gunshot injuries that were not life-threatening.
A police spokesman said detectives that evening linked the youth to the incident involving the special policeman but did not explain why authorities did not inform the public until more than 48 hours later.
Police said the 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were suspected of stealing from a grocery store, identified in the report as a Harris Teeter.
Tom Lynch, a D.C. police spokesman, said the officer confronted the youths and took the items away, but the youths grabbed the items back and ran to the vehicle in the garage. Police said the driver then struck the special officer with the vehicle, and the officer fired his gun. Police said they had not determined who was driving the vehicle.
The private police officer was treated at a hospital for injuries, police said in a statement.
The youths were each charged with felony assault on a police officer, robbery and unauthorized use of a vehicle. The police report says they were in a stolen white Hyundai Elantra. Their identities were not made public because they were charged as juveniles.
Security guards, known in D.C. as Special Police Officers, are licensed by the District. They have arrest powers typically limited to the properties whose owners or manager hire them. Some are authorized to carry firearms.
The shooting is being investigated by the D.C. police department’s Force Investigations Team, which conducts inquiries into shootings involving law enforcement. As is standard practice, the U.S. attorney’s office will review the case after the police investigation concludes.
Unlike D.C. police officers, not all special police are equipped with body cameras, and they do not fall under a law that requires the city to identify officers who use serious force within five business days.
