Muriel Bowser

4 Killed, 9 Injured, Including Ice Cream Truck Driver, in Burst of Weekend Shootings

Memorial Day weekend 2018 was marred by violence in D.C., as 13 people were shot, four fatally, in 11 separate incidents.

The driver of an ice cream truck was shot in the leg once while selling to children in the 2300 block of Skyland Place SE about 2:15 p.m. Monday. 

Two people approached the driver, demanded money and then went into the van to pat him down, court documents say. When he objected, the shooter shot him in the leg. The criminals made off with $30. 

“If this don’t clearly tell you that Southeast is in a state of emergency, I don’t know what will," said Paul Trantham, who heard the shot from inside his home.

He said neighbors are furious someone would target an ice cream man.

Just before 2 p.m., a man was shot at the intersection of Kennedy Street and Illinois Avenue in Northwest D.C. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police are looking for two male suspects. 

Earlier Monday, a victim was shot and killed in the 700 block of Langston Terrace NE about 2:30 a.m. There was no information on the victim's name or a suspect description.

Alexander Mosby, a D.C. resident and business owner, was shot just before 2 a.m. Saturday in the 2200 block of Savannah Terrace SE. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. He was 39.

A friend of Mosby's told News4 that Mosby was at a social gathering behind his business, District Culture, on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE earlier in the night.

"He's married, three beautiful children, a business, a house ... everything he's supposed to do and work hard for, he did it the right way, and this happened to him," said activist Ron Moten, Mosby's friend.

District Culture was a clothing store Mosby intended to relaunch this summer as an upscale lounge, his friend Kymone Freeman told News4.

"He was a laidback kind of gentleman, but also friendly, warm, patient. Didn't have much words to say, but when he did speak, he spoke a lot in volume," said Betty Scippio, an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.

Police are investigating Mosby's death as a homicide and are looking for a silver Infiniti SUV.

On Saturday evening, a couple was killed in the unit block of Galveston Street SW. Jaquon Helm, 40, was pronounced dead at the scene, and Venius Badgett, 35, died at a hospital. Badgett was a Prince George's County school bus driver, the school district confirmed. 

The shooting appears to have taken place in the courtyard of an apartment complex where children play. Emergency medical supplies littered the area, and bullet holes could be seen in a wall. 

Neighbors said there was a dispute in the parking lot as the couple drove into the neighborhood.

One bullet hit Jocelyn Maxwell's car across the street.

"It was a lot of gunshots," she said. "I told my kids to get down."

Helm's friend, Ward 8 Council member Trayvon White, said he was a youth sports coach and community leader.

“When you met him, you were never going to forget him," White said. "Heartwarming and heartfelt. Very passionate. Father. Spiritual.”

White held a community meeting Monday to address the "crisis of violence," saying the responsibility to stop the attacks is not the police department's alone.

The Memorial Day weekend deaths bring the total number of homicides in the District this year to 62.

Police responded to several other shootings late Friday night and early Saturday morning. It's unclear if any of them were related.

Early Friday evening, one man was shot about 7 p.m. in the unit block of Forrester Street SW, and another man was shot about 9:30 p.m. on the 500 block of Crittenden Street NW. About 11 p.m., a third man was shot in the 3000 block of Stanton Road SE.

Around the same time, police responded to the 800 block of Chesapeake Street SE and found two men had been shot.

Those five men were taken to the hospital conscious and breathing.

About 1 a.m. Saturday, police were called for a shooting in the 4800 block of 9th Street NW, where one man was injured. He was taken to a hospital conscious and breathing. Police are looking for two suspects last seen in a dark-colored vehicle in the 800 block of Decatur Street NW.

Another man was hospitalized early Sunday after being shot on the 2400 block of Martin Luther King Avenue in Southeast.

Mayor Muriel Bowser's office said police increased staffing 25 percent in areas experiencing increased crime, adding officers to evening and overnight shifts. Other city resources were sent to neighborhoods, recreation centers and pools in Wards 5, 7 and 8.

“Over the weekend, we deployed additional police and non-law enforcement resources to communities in Wards 7 and 8 experiencing an increase in violence," Bowser said in a statement. "While an enhanced police presence can help keep residents safe, we know that policing alone will not put a permanent stop to the violence in our communities. We ask residents to partner with us by reporting any criminal activity and send a clear message: Violence will not be tolerated.”

Last year, two people were killed in D.C. over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, according to police data. There were eight reported assaults that involved a gun.

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