Gunshots rang out near Rhode Island Avenue NE a few minutes after 3 p.m. Thursday, striking the Woodridge Neighborhood Library and damaging a vehicle. Metropolitan Police Department officers who responded to the scene confirmed no injuries were reported, even as the community library building itself took fire.
According to WJLA, MPD officers were dispatched to the Rhode Island Avenue NE area Thursday afternoon after reports of the shooting. The outlet reported that both the library at 1801 Hamlin Street NE and a nearby vehicle sustained damage, while police found no evidence of anyone struck by gunfire. The outlet was working to learn more details.
A Modern Library Building With a Rooftop Terrace
The Woodridge Neighborhood Library reopened in September 2016 following a $16.5 million renovation that turned it into a 20,000-square-foot facility designed by Bing Thom Architects and Wiencek & Associates, according to Wikipedia. The rebuilt branch became the first D.C. public library to feature a rooftop terrace, cementing its role as a community gathering spot in the Woodridge neighborhood.
Library grounds like Woodridge's carry specific legal weight when gunfire is involved. Areas within 1,000 feet of a designated public library are classified as gun-free zones under D.C. Code § 22-4502.01, a status that allows D.C. courts to double maximum criminal fines and prison sentences for illegal firearm possession nearby, according to Justia Law.
Library Security Has Faced Scrutiny Before
D.C. Public Library facilities maintain their own force of Special Police Officers, who hold arrest authority on library grounds and work alongside MPD officers to enforce safety rules, per reporting from PoPville. That security structure has been under a harsher spotlight since August 2022, when a 25-year-old D.C. Public Library Special Police Officer was fatally shot inside a conference room at the Anacostia Neighborhood Library after a private contractor inadvertently discharged a handgun during a training exercise, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Thursday's shooting near the Woodridge branch has renewed attention on library security.
Crime Trends Complicate the Picture in Ward 5
The library sits in the Woodridge neighborhood. Broader crime trends complicate the picture, even as isolated incidents like Thursday's shooting draw attention.
Such incidents draw outsized attention because of where they happen. MPD responded to the scene near the Woodridge library.
Fifth District Also Facing Internal Scrutiny
The shooting has also drawn attention to public safety and police response in the area.
The Woodridge area has seen other public safety incidents in recent months. In March, U.S. Park Police officers arrested a suspect on the roof of a neighborhood school near Central Avenue NE following a brief chase, as Hoodline previously reported. That incident also put public safety in the area in the spotlight.
No suspect information has been released in connection with Thursday's shooting. The shooting occurred along Rhode Island Avenue NE.
