A teen boy was shot outside the Kennedy Recreation Center in Northwest D.C. on Friday night, according to police, the latest violence at a facility meant to give young people a safe place to play. Officers responded to the 1300 block of 7th Street NW and found the boy suffering from a gunshot wound outside the center.
Police said the teen was injured in the shooting, according to Fox 5 DC, which first reported the incident. Investigators have not released the boy's exact age, his condition, or details about where he was taken for treatment. No suspect information has been made public, and police have not said whether the shooting was targeted or whether anyone else was hurt.
Police Appeal for Tips as Investigation Continues
Anyone with information has been urged to call police at 202-727-9099 or send a tip by text to 50411. No arrests have been announced in connection with Friday's shooting, and the circumstances that led up to it remain under investigation.
The Kennedy Recreation Center, run by Washington's Department of Parks and Recreation, offers outdoor sports facilities, a gym and youth entertainment rooms, a description detailed in past coverage from NBC News. It's the kind of community space meant to keep young people engaged and off the streets, which makes the location of Friday's shooting especially unsettling for neighbors in the Shaw area.
Same Rec Center Hit by Deadly Shooting in 2024
This is not the first time gunfire has erupted at Kennedy Recreation Center. In March 2024, two people were killed and five more were injured in a shooting that began at the center, per NBC News's reporting. All five of those injured were adults, and all were transported to local hospitals. Police at the time said they were searching for a suspect described only as a Black male of average build wearing light pants and a blue shirt, though it's not known whether that case was ever closed.
A separate shooting outside the Kennedy Recreation Center was also reported in July 2025, when a person was shot on 7th Street between O and P streets NW just before 6 p.m., according to PoPville. That earlier incident, in which the victim was transported to a hospital, is a distinct case from Friday's shooting and should not be confused with it.
Pattern of Violence Near DC Recreation Centers
Kennedy isn't the only D.C. rec center that's seen bloodshed in recent years. A 14-year-old boy was fatally shot outside the Lamond Recreation Center in Northeast Washington in 2024, one of two people shot outside the center's entrance, according to the Washington Post. That shooting happened the night of Aug. 1 as spectators watched a girls' summer-league basketball game between two city high schools. The Post later reported that the boy's death had pushed the number of juveniles fatally shot in the District that year to nine. Police eventually arrested a young man in connection with that killing, the paper reported in a follow-up story.
The 1300 block of 7th Street NW, where Friday's shooting unfolded, has also seen violence before. A double shooting there once left two 19-year-old men with gunshot wounds in what police described as an apparent drive-by, and the same block was the site of a homicide investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch in September 2023, though those older cases offer limited insight into Friday's shooting. The broader backdrop is grim: a 2023 report found that year was Washington's deadliest in two decades for violent crime, with gun attacks up 55 percent, per NBC News.
For now, investigators are focused on Friday's shooting and are counting on the public for leads. Residents with any information are asked to come forward using the tip line police have provided.
