Madeline Sponsler, FISM News

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Authorities report at least three shooters opened fire during a large, unauthorized gathering of people in Washington early on Sunday, killing a teenager and wounding 20 others.

The gunfire broke out during a gathering of hundreds of people in a southeast district of the nation’s capital, D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a press conference.

Mayor Bowser said the gathering violated the city’s coronavirus-induced ban on large public meetings of more than 50 people.

Newsham said at least three shooters opened fire when a dispute broke out at about midnight, striking 21 people, including an off-duty police officer.

“She is struggling for her life right now at a local hospital,” Newsham said, saying the officer was among at least 11 women hurt.

Christopher Brown, 17, was pronounced dead at a local hospital,.

“I really don’t understand how my child’s life is just gone,” his mother Artecka Brown told Reuters.

Bowser, wearing a face mask like Newsham, noted that people cooped up at home, as advised by medical experts to stop disease spread during the coronavirus pandemic, were starting to break rules, like those limiting the size of gatherings to allow for social distancing.

“Sadly, several people who have no regard for human life opened fire at what had been people gathered together, enjoying themselves,” Bowser said.

Newsham said police had tried to break up the gathering but apparently lacked the manpower to do so. “It doesn’t sound like we had enough officers to disperse the crowd,” he said.

No details were immediately available on the suspected shooters. Multiple weapons, including handguns, were confiscated from the scene, Newsham said.

Sourced from Reuters