The Washington, D.C., community was shaken due to a “sniper-type” shooting on Friday that left four random people injured.
Specifically, the incident occurred near a student housing complex affiliated with the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). Additionally, there were also other nearby complexes affiliated with Howard University and the Edmund Burke School.
The Van Ness campus is on lockdown. Active shooting incident near student housing located on Van Ness Street/Connecticut Avenue NW. The suspect remains on the loose. Law enforcement is on the scene. Take shelter and stay in place until further notice.
— University of DC (@udc_edu) April 22, 2022
The HBCU initially alerted the campus community of the incident at around 4 p.m. on Friday. A shelter-in-place order immediately went into effect, as authorities were “investigating reports that the suspect in the active shooting investigation may be in the immediate area.”
An all-clear was eventually given shortly after 9 p.m.
ALL CLEAR: Shelter-in-place Lifted (Van Ness campus)
The University Office of Public Safety and Emergency Management has issued an “all clear” at 9:13 p.m. in the shooting investigation near the Van Ness campus. The shelter-in-place order is now lifted.— University of DC (@udc_edu) April 23, 2022
Once more information began being shared, it was revealed that four people were shot: one man, two women, and a 12-year-old girl.
Additionally, authorities identified the suspect as a 23-year-old man named Raymond Spencer. He was suspected of firing dozens of shots with a “sniper-type setup” near his fifth-floor apartment window. However, as officers closed in on Spencer, they found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
*PHOTOS* Multiple firearms and a large quantity of ammo were recovered inside the fifth floor apartment where the suspect was found deceased. pic.twitter.com/3mR2uoqFTM
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) April 23, 2022
“We believe the suspect took his own life as MPD members were entering or breaching his apartment,” D.C. Metro Police Chief Robert Contee said during a press conference.
“People were unnecessarily shot in our community as a result of a senseless act of violence,” he added. “It just appears that this person was just shooting at anyone who was out there randomly.”
Contee also noted that six firearms were recovered from Spencer’s apartment.
It later surfaced that Spencer filmed and uploaded the shooting online, though the specifics of this are still being investigated.
“We don’t know if it was streamed live or if it was recorded and then posted,” Contee said. “It looks very much to be authentic, but we just want to make sure of that.”
#DC
The chief says they don’t believe the incident was livestreamed (the video of shooting) but they’re investigating.Suspect had a tripod and a “sniper setup” – Chief indicates this was a prepared incident. pic.twitter.com/qtJR0UzTCf
— Shane B. Murphy (@shanermurph) April 23, 2022
Once the matter began gaining widespread traction, a UDC student named Allison came forward and discussed how she knew the suspect back in middle school.
“It’s really surreal that my former classmate would actually shoot at, or near, my university,” she said. “It’s just so horrible, because all my advisors were there, my lab mates, my friends. And it’s hard not to get angry about that, because in just a few minutes, he could have destroyed some of the best things in my life.”
Allison also reflected on the suspect’s character.
“It’s not like he was a loner… He’s the last person I would expect to do something like this. He was the most quiet kid,” she noted. “He didn’t really talk a lot, but he always smiled when you talked to him. Like, this isn’t the person that I knew 10 years ago.”
“I’m pretty sure he already wanted to commit suicide, but he was afraid of not being remembered,” Allison added. “So, he appealed to these internet movements because he knew that people would continue to make conspiracies about his life, as if it was some kind of thing. The truth is kind of devastatingly simple.”
