A 34-year-old Maryland man is facing charges after police say a bullet fired during a heated argument in Northwest Washington ricocheted and struck a bystander waiting at a bus stop blocks away. The arrest came more than five months after the shooting, which happened in the predawn hours of March 29.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the confrontation began around 4:38 a.m. in the 1900 block of 8th Street Northwest, when the suspect and another person got into an argument that quickly turned violent. As reported by DC News Now, the suspect allegedly pulled out a gun and fired a shot into the ground as the dispute escalated. Police say that round, or a portion of it, traveled to the 700 block of Florida Avenue Northwest and struck an innocent bystander who was simply standing at a bus stop, according to a statement carried by einpresswire.com.
The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries, per the same account, while the suspect fled the scene in a vehicle before officers arrived. The account does not specify the victim's condition, identity, or whether they have since been released from the hospital.
Arrest Came Months Later Under a Superior Court Warrant
On Tuesday, pursuant to a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant, 34-year-old Marcellus Williams of Oxon Hill, Maryland, was taken into custody and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon involving a gun, the report notes. The gap between the shooting and the arrest stretched beyond five months, though the public record does not explain what investigative steps led police to Williams or how his identity was established.
It's also unclear whether Williams has retained an attorney, how he has responded to the charge, or whether he has appeared in court. Those details simply are not part of the record released so far.
What the Charge Could Mean
Under D.C. law, assault with a dangerous weapon carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction, according to the D.C. Law Library. That figure represents only the statutory ceiling for a conviction and says nothing about how this particular case might be resolved.
The circumstances that turned a ground-level gunshot into a bystander injury blocks away have not been independently verified beyond the police account, and the mechanism — whether a ricochet, a fragment, or something else — has not been detailed publicly. Williams' case now moves through the D.C. Superior Court system, though no hearing date or plea has been reported.
