4 Killed In D.C. on A Violent Weekend

There was much of the same feeling at Star of Bethlehem Church of God in Christ, just steps from the bus stop where the spray of bullets started. Some church members missed the 8 a.m. prayer service because of blocked streets around the crime scene, said Bishop Harvey Lewis Sr., the church's pastor.

Lewis said the incident leaves him concerned about the causes of teen violence.

"Somebody said it takes a village to raise a child, but I believe the primary responsibility is on the parent," he said. There needs to be a greater emphasis, he said, on "nurturing them and being an example for them."

He wondered why teenagers were out at 1 a.m. "If I stayed out that late, my dad would meet me at the door with a stick," he said. On Friday and Saturday night, the curfew for minors in the District was midnight.

Lewis said there was a community meeting this year after two young men were found dead nearby. But the neighborhood has been quiet otherwise, he said. "I've been here since 1986, and those are the only incidents I've seen of that nature."

Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), who district includes the area where the shooting occurred, said she had been told by police that, during the argument near 14th and U streets, at least one person showed a gun and that the three teenagers fled and got a ride to the bus stop.

Yesterday, police described the attackers: One was a black male about 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds with dreadlocks, wearing a green and brown hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. The other was a black male about 6 feet tall and stocky, with a three-quarter-length jacket, dark pants and possibly a mustache.

With the weekend's violence, the District's homicides for the year totaled 143. Last year, there were 131 by the same time, police statistics show.

Staff writers Ernesto Londo¿o and Theola Labb¿ and researcher Rena Kirsch contributed to this report.