Child fatally shot in Northwest

Police investigate a dispute outside door of boy's home

A boy younger than 10 was shot and killed Saturday night in the Columbia Heights area of Northwest Washington.

D.C. police said the boy was killed inside his apartment in the 1400 block of Columbia Road by a shot that apparently came through the door.

Authorities said the shot was fired shortly before 10 p.m. during a dispute in the hallway outside the boy's apartment.

Police were in the area in connection with the department's All Hands on Deck initiative and arrived at the apartment quickly, authorities said.

They said three people were being questioned late Saturday night.

D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who was among the officials who went to the scene, noted the irony in the child's death.

"Here's a boy in the safety of his own home," and yet he was killed, Graham said.

The child's age was unclear. Some sources said he was 7; others said 9.