Washington D.C. police officers exchanged gunfire with at least one armed person Tuesday morning in Southeast Washington, before arresting five people.
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No injuries were reported. The group fired at police to avoid arrest, and not as a part of a targeted attack on police officers, a police official told the Washington Post. The group was involved in a previous crime, possibly an armed robbery.
Officers responded about 12:10 a.m. to the 3200 block of Sixth Street SE, near the Rehoboth Baptist Church and Congress Heights Playground.
Police were alerted of gunfire because of ShotSpotter, a censor that detects gunfire.
Officers responded to the reports of gunfire and upon arrival were shot at by people in a SUV, according to police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.
Police returned fire at the suspects who barricaded themselves inside of the SUV. Officers told the group to come out but they refused.
Steinbeck said he did not know how many people on either side of the shooting fired weapons. After the firing ended, police negotiated for 30 minutes before the group surrendered.
Police believe that the group of people in the SUV were involved in a robbery at Sixth Street and Alabama Avenue around the same time police were alerted to gunshots.
