By Stacy Cloyd
Five people were injured as several shootings took place in Southwest DC in May and early June, leaving Southwest residents frightened and frustrated.
A man was shot and his property taken early in the morning of May 1 on the 300 block of M Street SW, WLJA first reported. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said their investigation is ongoing.
Two people were shot near the intersection of 3rd and K Streets SW on the evening of May 17; police recovered twenty shell casings from the incident. MPD said DC Housing Authority police are leading the investigation. DCHA did not respond to a request for comment.
Outside of Safeway on 4th Street SW on the afternoon of May 29, an 18-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries from gunshot wounds, according to an MPD press release. MPD has photographs of a suspect and two people of interest, but has made no arrests.
Another afternoon shooting on June 2 between Safeway and the Waterfront Metro entrance resulted in a bystander and his wheelchair, the Safeway building, and two nearby cars being hit by gunfire, according to DC News Now and documents filed in DC Superior Court. A total of 12 shell casings were found in two different areas after that shooting, suggesting that multiple weapons were fired.
Metro Transit Police arrested Daquan Toland, 25, shortly after the June 2 shooting. MPD’s press release said Toland is from Northwest, but an affidavit filed in court described his residence as with his mother at 200 K Street Southwest. He is being held without bond awaiting his next DC Superior Court hearing, which is scheduled for June 16. MPD said two other suspects remain at large in the shooting.
MPD’s Crimecards website shows five assaults with a gun within 2000 feet of the 4th Street Safeway so far this year, compared to two for the same period in 2024. The website does not include the May 17 double shooting; MPD’s press office stated this was because DCHA police were the first responders to that incident.
MPD Public Information Officer Lee Lepe wrote in a statement, “MPD has maintained an increased presence around the Southwest Waterfront. We continue to collaborate and share information with our partners at Metro Transit Police and the DC Housing Authority Police, particularly when a call for service, or an investigation involves an area within their jurisdiction. Anyone who has knowledge of these incidents, should take no action but call police at (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411.”
