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Published on May 22, 2024
Gunmen in Custody After Brazen Daylight Attack on Off-Duty MPD CaptainSource: Google Street View

Two suspects were arrested in a high-stakes chase after they opened fire on an off-duty cop in broad daylight. The harrowing ordeal began on a busy Northwest street when an MPD captain found trouble following him in his rearview mirror Monday afternoon, officials from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) reported.

According to a statement from the MPD, the off-duty officer was navigating the 5800 block of 7th Street NW, headed to work in his private vehicle, when he noticed an erratic driver weaving ahead. Suspicions peaked when the vehicle abruptly stopped and one armed individual emerged, discharging a weapon at him. In an assault that shook the neighborhood, the captain sustained injuries.

The incident did not end on the residential street. Despite his wounds, the captain, with determination, managed to note details of the assailant's vehicle—a partial license plate. Information quickly found its way to the eagle-eyed operatives at MPD's Real Time Crime Center. Using cutting-edge technology, they pinned down the suspect vehicle's location, setting the scene for the dramatic capture.

Word from the MPD was that no sooner had the plate number been acquired, than the RTCC tracked the suspects down using license plate reader technology. Their vehicle appeared, as if summoned by law's long arm, near Bladensburg Road NE and New York Avenue NE. The Air Support Unit, Falcon 1, and ground officers from the Fifth District gave chase, stretching the law's reach over state lines to Landover, Maryland, where the suspect vehicle, crashing by itself, ended the pursuit with a bang.

Subdued and in custody, courtesy of Prince George's County Police Department, were 21-year-old Rasheed Thorne from Northwest, D.C. and William Walker from Upper Marlboro, MD—names now etched on a DC Superior Court arrest warrant for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (Gun). The duo faces extradition back to Washington, D.C., where they will answer for the brazen attack on law enforcement.