A man was arrested Thursday after police say he fired a handgun near the Maycroft condos in the 1400 block of Columbia Road NW in Columbia Heights, striking a parked car and touching off a foot chase through the neighborhood. No injuries were reported, but the gunfire damaged two vehicles, including one bullet that pierced the rear passenger-side door of a woman's car.
According to WJLA, Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the Maycroft condos after an officer requested assistance following reports of gunshots. Two witnesses told officers they were sitting on the stairs when the shooting happened, and one witness said the suspect stood above them while firing a handgun toward another man nearby, per the station's report.
The suspect then ran south on 15th Street NW, prompting officers to give chase, the outlet reported. Police said the man threw the handgun underneath a car somewhere along his path before officers detained him. He was later charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, the same account states.
A Felony Charge That Doesn't Require a Wound
Under D.C. Code § 22-402, assault with a dangerous weapon is a felony that can carry up to 10 years in prison, according to Justia Law. The statute does not require that a victim be physically struck — intentionally attempting or threatening harm while holding a weapon and the apparent ability to use it is enough to meet the legal threshold, per the same source. Federal rules governing D.C. Code offenders, outlined by the Legal Information Institute, also cap a first revocation of supervised release for such a conviction at two years.
The Maycroft itself is more than just an address in a police report. It's a 64-unit affordable housing complex redeveloped by Jubilee Housing that includes on-site early childhood education through Martha's Table and what the organization describes as D.C.'s first community solar resiliency hub, according to Jubilee Housing. The complex was built to offer what the nonprofit calls “justice housing” and family support services in a rapidly gentrifying stretch of Northwest D.C.
Another Flashpoint on a Corridor With a Violent 2026
Thursday's shooting adds to a string of gun violence along and near Columbia Road NW this year. On March 1, Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a shooting one block away on Columbia Road NW that left a victim hospitalized with serious wounds before a suspect was arrested the following month. In April, more than 20 gunshots rang out near 14th Street NW and Fairmont Street NW, striking multiple parked vehicles and shattering windows near a charter school and community center without injuring anyone, according to WUSA9.
The violence has hit even closer to home in recent weeks. A teenage boy was shot and killed outside a residential home in Columbia Heights on July 27, just over two weeks before Thursday's gunfire, as Hoodline previously reported. And in October 2025, a homicide suspect was killed in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement just one block away on Girard Street NW, according to WJLA.
A Citywide Spike in Weapon Assaults
The Columbia Heights shooting lands amid a broader, somewhat contradictory crime picture in the District. Metropolitan Police Department statistics released Thursday show reported assaults with a dangerous weapon have surged 40 percent so far this year, climbing from 550 incidents in 2025 to 771 in 2026, even as total violent crime citywide rose just 4 percent and homicides fell 33 percent. That uptick follows a period of historic improvement: the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia reported that total violent crime dropped 35 percent in 2024, reaching a 30-year low, with federal prosecutors crediting targeted operations against armed street groups.
Crime reporting out of the Third District, which covers both Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan, has also faced its own scrutiny. The district was the subject of internal and federal inquiries in 2025 and 2026 after allegations that command officials had systematically reclassified violent crime reports to lower official statistics, according to The Guardian. The former Third District commander was placed on administrative leave amid those investigations, the outlet reported.
