Washington DC standoff ends with arrest of gunman who shot three officers: Live

Julius James, 46, is in police custody after the officers negotiated his surrender, ending a multi-hour standoff during which three officers were injured.

Washington DC police said the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Emergency Response Team successfully negotiated the surrender of a gunman who shot three officers on Wednesday night.

It began after the MPD Criminal Apprehension Unit responded to the 5000 block of Hanna Place, Southeast, to serve an arrest warrant for animal cruelty.

“After several hours of negotiation, the suspect surrendered,” police said.

Mr James was arrested and charged with Cruelty to Animals and additional charges for the assault on the officers are pending.

Some residents described how the incident unfolded, and said that the police needed to have “better communication and relationships” with those living in the neighbourhood.

One woman told Fox5 : “I don’t live too far, I heard a lot of the sirens – that was concerning. At the point that the sirens didnt stop I came outside to understand what’s going on.

“From my understanding the person who has caused all this commotion has not been caught. Why is this happening? Why did the individual feel the need to shoot the police? … just why? There’s a lot of whys.”

She continued: “Things do happen like this, not necessarily the police getting shot but people getting shot and when they do, we have never had the street shut down like this. We have never had 100 police officers telling us we cannot leave the area.

“We have never had this for our citizens who got shot. So this is a matter for the police, they’re handling their own.”

Read more from The Independent’s Kelly Rissman and Mike Bedigan:

Washington DC police department expressed gratitude to men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department and other departments and agencies for their help during the standoff.

“We would like to thank the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department, our local, state, and federal partners, and the multiple District of Columbia agencies for their assistance during this critical incident,” police said.

When asked to expand on the animal cruelty charges, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith focused instead on the officers wounded when serving the warrant.

“So let me not be glib about my response to your question specifically related to the animals,” Ms Smith said. “I don’t want it to be lost on anyone today that we’ve had three officers who were shot with the Metropolitan Police Department. Three of our officers were shot today, serving an arrest warrant to someone who was cruel to animals.”

“The same type of response that we provide for our officers, we have that same care for animals as well, but I don’t want it to be lost on anyone today that the reason why we are here right now is because three of our officers have been shot,” she continued.

When asked at a Wednesday night press conference about how long the standoff will be “tolerated,” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith minced no words in her response:

“I will tolerate this as long as we continue to engage with the subject to get him to surrender to our law enforcement personnel.”

The suspect remains in the home as the stand-off hits eleven straight hours, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said at a 6 pm press conference.

Ms Smith said sometimes the suspect is “agitated, and then there are moments where he’s having positive interactions with our emergency response team personnel.”

While police engaged in a multi-hour standoff in Washington, DC, at least one person was killed and several were injured by a shooter at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade on Wednesday afternoon.

Three of the wounded were in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon, according to local news reports.

Two suspects have reportedly been detained in connection with the shooting.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said she was “angry” about the shooting, and offered her sympathies to those affected.

“This tragedy occurred even in the presence of uniformed law enforcement officers who again ran towards them and took them into custody. To the people who were injured in this tragedy,” she said. “Our hearts go out to you and your families.”

Keep up with The Independent’s live coverage of the tragedy here:

The Humane Rescue Alliance conveyed their support for Washington, DC police, who arrived at the home to serve a warrant for animal cruelty. The stand-off has now reached hour nine.

“Our thoughts are with our partners at MPD who are being treated in the hospital and we are wishing them all the best in their recovery,” the group said in a statement. “We could not fulfill our mission without them. We are also concerned for the safety of the officers who remain on scene, the community members who continue to be affected, and the animals whom we were there to protect.”