Five people were shot early Thursday in Washington's Logan Circle neighbourhood, about a mile north of the White House, police said, as officers responded to an active shooting at multiple locations.
The shootings were reported in the area of the 1500 block of 15th Street Northwest, near P Street, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Councilmember Brooke Pinto said the shootings took place at and outside a VIDA Fitness gym in the neighbourhood, and urged people to stay away from the area while police searched for a suspect.
Police said the shooter had not been caught and the precise locations of the shootings were not immediately clear, department spokesperson Nicole Deaner said. The department's Emergency Response Team responded to the scene, and a shelter-in-place order was issued for the immediate area. Nearby schools were placed on lockdown, and residents were urged to avoid the area around 15th Street and P Street Northwest.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it sent agents to assist local police, and the FBI, D.C. Fire, Metro Transit Police, Homeland Security and the National Guard were among the agencies responding. News reports citing law enforcement sources said the shooter was believed to be barricaded in a residential building in the area.
No information had been released on the identities or conditions of those shot, or on a motive. The 1500 block of 15th Street includes the fitness centre, St. Luke's Episcopal Church and residential buildings, with a Whole Foods supermarket around the corner.
