A high-ranking Washington D.C. police captain was ambushed and shot in the head just blocks from his station Monday in a carjacking attempt that has reignited concerns over the nation’s capital’s unchecked crime wave.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s 4th District commander, whose name has not been released, was driving his personal vehicle to work around 12:10 p.m. when he noticed a car operating erratically in the Northwest D.C. neighborhood.
After following the suspicious vehicle, one of its occupants shockingly opened fire on the 27-year veteran officer in what police are investigating as a bungled carjacking attempt. The attempted assassination occurred at the intersection of 7th Street and Oneida Place NW, a mere five blocks from the captain’s district station headquarters.
Despite being struck in the head at point-blank range, the unidentified commander managed to get a partial plate number on the suspects’ vehicle before somehow driving himself to the station for assistance, according to Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith.
“The officer was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, with the gunshot wound reportedly being superficial,” Smith told reporters, her voice shaking with emotion over the inexcusable attack on one of the department’s most respected leaders.
In an indication of how lawless the streets of D.C. have become, the suspects refused to stand down even after a city-wide patrol was immediately launched to track them down. A high-speed chase ensued, with the armed and dangerous pair fleeing into Prince George’s County before crashing their vehicle.
“The vehicle crashed, and two suspects were taken into custody,” Smith confirmed, thankfully without any additional loss of life or harm to the public. She made a point of crediting the critically wounded captain’s bravery and quick thinking in helping law enforcement identify and apprehend the would-be killers.
“We are grateful that our officer has not sustained any life-threatening injuries. He is at an area hospital with his family and our family support team.”
The unmistakable implication, however, is that the nation’s showcase capital city continues spiraling into a state of utter chaos and depravity under flailing Democratic political leadership. Violent crime rates in D.C. have jumped over 25% in the past year alone according to the latest data, with homicides up over 35%.
In January, amidst mounting public outrage, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser authorized the unprecedented step of calling in the National Guard to patrol the city’s streets. But with the potential murder of a high-ranking police official now adding to concerns, the move is looking like too little, too late – even as Bowser remains more focused on cowing to woke activist groups seeking to defund the police entirely.
For D.C. officers working daily to keep families safe in the wake of crusading liberals’ pro-criminal policies, Monday’s appalling attack hits close to home. The cold-blooded shooting of a respected commander mere feet from a police headquarters starkly underlines how even those sworn to uphold the law can no longer take their own security for granted.
“You see this happening to a police captain – one of our leaders who has been doing this for almost 30 years – it’s making a lot of us rethink whether we really want to keep doing this job, putting our lives on the line every day,” one demoralized patrol officer told reporters on condition of anonymity. “If the brass aren’t even safe, what chance do we have?”
As the embattled captain continues receiving treatment, residents and police alike are left grappling with the grim toll of unfettered criminal anarchy being allowed to overrun the U.S. capital. Unless the city’s rudderless political stewards get serious about backing the blue and restoring law and order, disturbing incidents like this will become the new normal in the once-shining District of Columbia.