A Juneteenth celebration turned deadly on Sunday night leaving a 15-year-old dead and four people shot, including a Metropolitan Police Department officer, near a Moechella go-go music festival in Washington, DC.
According to police, the free music street festival event was unauthorized.
The Moechella’s Instagram page presented the event as a Juneteenth “peaceful demonstration” on 14th and U Street NW.
Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee told reporters that hundreds of people were gathered and that about 100 police officers were present. A fight broke out and people were injured trying to flee. Police then tried to disperse the crowd.
A shooting broke out while police were clearing the area and the scene turned to chaos. Several firearms were found, including on one of the victims of the shooting.
The hospitalized victims were reported to be in stable condition.
“We certainly want to make sure people are held accountable when they hold unpermitted events in our city,” Chief Contee said Sunday night. “This is one of the reasons why.”
He said that police officers did not fire their weapons.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser held a press conference on Sunday night and said, “We have a child who was killed today at an event that did not have any proper planning. We need some accountability here.”
According to police, the shooting was done by one person and a suspect has not yet been found.