UPDATED: Man shoots at DC firefighters & police at crash scene – Will this help new chief say no more to firefighter crime patrols?
Previous coverage of firefighter crime patrol program
UPDATE
It’s now Monday and I find it astounding there is no statement from either the outgoing or incoming fire chief in DC about their firefighters being fired on. In addition, the Twitter feed for the department, tells us about all kinds of relatively trivial events like traffic delays and elevator malfunctions but there is no mention of this important news. Once again, a total failure in leadership.
EARLIER
No one was hurt early this morning in Northeast Washington as a man opened fire on a firefighters and police working a crash scene.
The firefighters are from Truck 13, which is one of the companies targeted by outgoing DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Kenneth Ellerbe and Deputy Mayor Paul Quander to park without police in Northeast neighborhoods during the overnight hours. It has been part of a silly and dangerous attempt at crime patrol they call “soft posting”.
Hopefully incoming interim Chief Eugene Jones will have the smarts to use this incident as reason to say no more to Deputy Mayor Quander and his foolishness. Also interesting is this information in a Tweet by WTTG-TV/FOX 5 reporter Paul Wagner:
Members of truck 13 were assisting accident victims when gunman fired as many as 12 to 15 rounds. FD report says gunman said F firemen.
— Paul Wagner (@Fox5Wagner) June 21, 2014
A gunman opened fire on D.C. police and firefighters when they responded to a car crash in the 2100 block of H Street NE early Saturday morning.
Dabney Hudson of the D.C. Firefighters Association, says firefighters were treating the victims involved in the accident when they were suddenly forced to take cover.
“Some of them ran inside and took cover in the apartment with the rest of the residents,” Hudson says. “Two of them took cover underneath the police car.”
According to the police report, an officer says when he tried to interview the suspect, the man pulled out a gun and started shooting into the crowd and in the direction of the officer.
The officer did not return fire.
The suspect drove away, but he and a female passenger with him were later caught and arrested.
“There have been reports that the person that came back and shot made some statements that he wasn’t happy with the firefighters being there,” Hudson says.
Firefighters heard at least a dozens shots fired.
No one was injured but those who live there tell ABC7 it’s a sound that’s becoming all too common in the neighborhood.
Click here if video above fails to play
Metropolitan police arrested two people after they allegedly fired into a crowd of witnesses and firefighters early Saturday morning.
Police said officers and firefighters responded to a vehicle accident in the 2100 block of H Street, Northeast, at 4:30 a.m., and were treating the accident victims when the suspects returned to the scene. As officers tried to question one of the suspects, he pulled a weapon and began randomly firing.
No one was struck and the suspects fled the scene. Police later caught up to suspects in the 1500 block of East Capitol Street and recovered the weapon.
The identities of the suspect and the accident victims have not been released.
Peter Hermann, The Washington Post:
About 4:30 a.m., police investigating a car accident in the 2100 block of H Street NE said one of the drivers pulled out a gun and opened fire on officers, firefighters treating the injured and a crowd that had gathered. No one was injured, said Alali. The fire union president said firefighters from Truck 13 dived behind their firetruck for cover.
Truck 13 on “soft posting” last year. An idiotic and dangerous program form outgoing Chief Kenneth Ellerbe & Deputy Mayor Paul Quander.
