15-year-old boy was killed and a police officer was among three other people who were injured when someone opened fire in a crowd after an unpermitted music gathering Sunday night in Washington, D.C., authorities said.
The three surviving victims, including a Metropolitan Police Department officer, were stabilized at medical facilities, officials said at an evening news conference. The officer was shot in a leg, Chief Robert J. Contee III said.
The attack was the work of one person, not in custody, who opened fire as police were clearly in the area, Contee said. He did not indicate that the officer was specifically targeted, noting only that it the street was crowded.
The violence was reported near 14th and U streets Northwest, authorities said. It was near an event called Moechella, which celebrates go-go, a genre of music that originated and is still popular in Washington.
Earlier at the event, authorities said, something prompted people to flee, and some were injured, police said. Contee said the event was shut down at that point, but he also indicated that crowds remained in the area.
Contee indicated that police were patrolling the festival and its aftermath in abundant numbers — with more than 100 officers assigned to the area, he said.
Moechella founder Justin Johnson, also known as Yaddiya, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. He's a noted artist, activist and go-go booster. Last year a photo book he helped curate, “Long Live GoGo: The Movement,” was published as a celebration of the percussive sound.