Woman Is Shot at D.C. Bus Stop In Front of Elementary Students

The mother of a child at a Northwest Washington elementary school was shot in the head yesterday only steps from the school and in front of other children, D.C. police said.

The shooting took place about 8:50 a.m. at a bus stop at Georgia Avenue and Columbia Road, near an entrance to Bruce-Monroe Elementary School, said Cmdr. Larry McCoy, head of the 3rd District. The woman, who is in her late 30s, has a child in the school's pre-kindergarten program, school system officials said.

Authorities said the woman was waiting for a bus at the stop, near a busy intersection, when a man came up and opened fire. She was hospitalized in critical but guarded condition.

"It's a terrible tragedy," said Superintendent Clifford B. Janey, who rushed to the school when he heard about the attack. "My heart goes out to the students who witnessed the shooting. They should not have to undergo this type of street violence." The school enrolls 320 students.

The attack was one of two rush-hour shootings yesterday in the District. Just before 8 a.m., a man walked into the 7th District police station at 2455 Alabama Ave. SE with a gunshot wound to his hand. He told police that he was robbed and shot at 24th Street and Wagner Avenue, after he left his house.

Police did not identify the victims because they are witnesses.

The suspect in the Georgia Avenue shooting was wearing a T-shirt, blue jeans and a white baseball cap with the letters "NY" on it. He was seen riding away on a black bicycle. Police said that the shooting did not appear to be a robbery and that they were unsure whether the gunman knew the victim.

Part of the street near the school was closed as investigators gathered evidence.

Adjacent to the bus stop is a tall retaining wall surrounding the school covered with a mural showing scenes of children playing, doing their homework and graduating. "The way to reach our dreams" is written above a red, black and yellow schoolhouse.

But the scene yesterday morning was anything but ideal, Principal Marta Palacios said. Officials said the shooting occurred 20 minutes after the start of school, but students were still arriving. Palacios said the students were met at the door by school personnel.

A fourth-grade boy and three third-grade girls witnessed the attack and spoke soon after with grief counselors and police.

"They're traumatized," she said. "But we're providing for them as best we can. They were playing and drawing."

Janey stressed that the shooting had nothing to do with the school and that stopping such violence is a tall order for police to handle.

"I don't know how the police could have prevented that," he said. "There has to be community vigilance. This is on the streets. This is not in the schools."

Staff writers Allison Klein, Theola Labbé and Martin Weil contributed to this report.