A 65-year-old woman has been identified as the victim of a fatal shooting last Friday night in Southeast D.C., and police still have not released any information about a suspect or what led to her death. Carol Ann Williams was shot and killed at approximately 10:01 p.m. in the 1900 block of Frederick Douglass Court SE, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
MPD officers were called to the block and found Williams unconscious with a gunshot wound, as first reported by WJLA. First responders attempted to save her life, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The department confirmed the shooting and victim identification in a homicide bulletin, which notes that Williams was killed in the 1900 block of Frederick Douglass Court, SE on Friday, October 9, 2026, at approximately 10:01 pm.
Police have not released information about a possible shooter or a motive in the case. The department says it is seeking the public's assistance in gathering information regarding the homicide. Anyone with details is asked to call MPD at 202-727-9099.
Another Southeast Shooting Earlier This Year
Williams' death follows a separate fatal shooting of a woman in Southeast D.C. earlier this year. On the morning of May 12, 2026, a woman was shot to death inside an apartment in the 1300 block of Congress Street SE, the same outlet's report notes. Officers responding around 6:29 a.m. found the woman had been shot and found no signs of life; she was pronounced dead at the scene. It is not established whether that case and the Frederick Douglass Court shooting are connected.
Citywide Numbers Tell a Mixed Story
The Williams case comes amid a complicated crime picture for the District. Data from the Council on Criminal Justice shows D.C.'s homicide rate was 41% lower in the first half of 2026 than during the same period in 2025, and 43% lower than in the first half of 2019. The rate stood at 6.2 per 100,000 residents during that stretch, broadly in line with a nationwide decline the research group tracked across 30 study cities, which averaged an 18% drop.
But not every violent-crime indicator moved in the same direction. The same analysis found D.C.'s gun-assault rate rose 13% in the first half of 2026 compared with a year earlier, reaching 40.4 per 100,000 residents. Separately, MPD has cautioned that its firearm-recovery totals from 2024 and 2025 are not directly comparable to prior years because the department transitioned to a new records system called FileOnQ in 2024, a detail noted on the agency's crime-data page.
No arrests have been announced in Williams' killing, and investigators have not said what led to the shooting. The Metropolitan Police Department continues to ask anyone with information to come forward as the investigation remains open.
