Local digest

-- Del Quentin Wilber

THE DISTRICT

Teen dies in shooting

D.C. police are investigating a double shooting early Tuesday in Northeast Washington that left an 18-year-old dead.

The shooting happened after midnight in the 1100 block of 21st Street in a neighborhood that borders the U.S. National Arboretum. Police found two men with gunshot wounds, said Officer Helen Andrews, a police spokeswoman. Police identified the dead teen as Rydell Dickerson of Capitol Heights. The injured man was taken to a hospital, Andrews said.

As of Tuesday, according to D.C. police statistics, there have been 123 homicides this year in the District, a 25 percent decrease from this time last year, when there were 164.

-- Theola Labbé-DeBose

Wheelchairs in cabs

Two taxi companies -- Yellow Cab and Royal Cab -- will put their first wheelchair-accessible vehicles into service in December, and the firms should have 20 cabs that can accommodate wheelchairs in service by January.

The federally funded project, which the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board initiated last year, also will receive matching funds from the D.C. Taxicab Commission. None of the District's 6,500 taxis are equipped with ramps or lifts.

-- Ashley Halsey III