By Petula Dvorak
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two people were shot this afternoon by a fellow student at an adult vocational school in Northeast Washington, police officials said.
The shooting took place at 2:05 p.m. at the Excel Institute, a facility that trains troubled youths and adults to become auto mechanics. Police said the gunman, dressed in a dark suit and wearing a fedora, burst into the lobby and began shooting, grazing a man in the face. Then he ran outside and fired into a group of students, hitting a woman in the shoulder, police said.
Officials said both victims are expected to survive. A suspect was arrested minutes later after a police chase. No one else was hurt.
Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier described the gunman as “extremely agitated” and said he carried at least two weapons into the school, in the 2800 block of V Street NE. The shooting took place in an area that has been plagued by recent violence, and three officers on special assignments there helped make the arrest, Lanier said.
Assistant Police Chief Diane Groomes said that the gunman appeared to be shooting at random.
Police have not yet released the suspect’s name. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) said he understood that the man had been in D.C. Superior Court earlier today, but had no details.
After the shooting, the suspect carjacked a vehicle at V Street and Bladensburg Road NE, police said. Two officers chased the vehicle to 12th and C streets NE, where the suspect bailed out of that vehicle and commandeered another, a sedan belonging to the Terminix pest control company.
The chase continued to the 300 block of 19th Street SE, where another officer blocked the suspect’s path, police said. The man drove into the police car and was quickly arrested.
The Excel Institute is a nonprofit organization cofounded a decade ago by former Redskins star George Starke and parking magnate John Lyon. About 100 students are enrolled there. The organization recently lost a bid to manage the city’s fleet of police cruisers, scooters, motorcycles and other vehicles.
Erik Steed, a recruiter at the school, said he heard the gunfire and was stunned to see the student in the lobby carrying two guns. He quoted the student as saying, “I’m going to handle some business.”
Steed declined to identify the man but said that he is normally mild-mannered. He described a chaotic scene, with people scrambling to get away.
The trouble broke out even as city leaders were having a news conference outside police headquarters to tout some recent arrests. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Lanier were among those announcing the bust of a drug crew that allegedly was operating out of Langston Terrace in Northeast. Lanier raced from that event to the scene of the shooting.
The drug bust was part of an 11-month investigation that included the D.C. police, the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI and began after a shooting in February of 2007. Fenty said the task force, known as Team D.C., was meant to ferret out the most “hardened, brazen” criminals. Today, an indictment was unsealed naming members of the Langston Terrace Crew as participants in a drug conspiracy.
Copyright 2008 The Washington Post