By Del Quentin Wilber, The Washington Post
Shots were fired at a D.C. police officer during a traffic stop early yesterday in Northwest Washington, and the officer returned fire, police said. The officer was unhurt, and it was not clear whether his shots hit anybody.
Several officers were wary yesterday, concerned that the incident was a deliberate effort to target them. But police officials said they believed it was a random encounter.
The incident began about 1:30 a.m. when a red Toyota Corolla ran a stop sign at Illinois Avenue and Gallatin Street NW, police said.
An officer who was nearby spotted the car and pulled it over in the 800 block of Gallatin.
The officer approached the vehicle, which had tinted windows and lacked a license tag. As he approached, the officer, who came to the area from Puerto Rico, heard the driver tell a passenger in Spanish to shoot him when he got closer, according to police. The officer went back to his car and called for backup.
He ordered those in the car to put their hands outside the car, and someone inside it opened fire with a handgun. The officer shot back, and the car sped off.
The officer got into his car and tried to follow, but a tire blew out. The officer’s name was withheld.
“He’s fine,” said Cmdr. Hilton Burton of the 4th Police District. “He was a little shaken up, but he is fine. Hopefully, he will be back to work sometime soon.”
Burton said he put two officers in each patrol car yesterday in case they encountered the Toyota.
Police urged anyone with information about the incident to call police at 202-727-9099.