A man fatally shot his older brother inside an apartment in Southeast Washington on Monday night and then opened fire on D.C. police, authorities and a family member said. One officer was struck in the chest but saved by his protective vest, according to authorities.
Renee Carter identified her 55-year-old brother, Alphonzo Carter, as the man fatally shot inside the bathroom of their mother’s apartment. She identified her other brother, Eric Carter, 53, as the man shot and killed by police.
A D.C. police spokesman confirmed the identities and said investigators at this point believe that Eric Carter killed Alphonzo Carter and then confronted officers who raced to the complex a few minutes after 7 p.m. Monday after a report of shots being fired.
The new details fill in some gaps from initial police accounts Monday night.
Speaking Tuesday, Renee Carter did not question the decision by police to shoot Eric Carter and said she was relieved the wounded officer was not seriously injured. But she said relatives are upset that police delayed entering the apartment to assemble a tactical team, fearing a possible second shooter. Those heavily armed officers found the wounded Alphonzo Carter in a bathroom, where he was later pronounced dead.
“My brother could have probably survived had they gone in and got him right away,” said Renee Carter, who is 59 and lives in Washington. “I have one brother who was shot because he shot the police. I know they are going to kill him. But what about the other brother who was an innocent bystander? He was left in the house bleeding.”
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham, speaking to reporters more than two hours after the first calls for help, said that “after the male came out and shot at our police officers, it was unclear if there was a second shooter.” He said the tactical team was called in “to ensure the scene was secure. When they did that they located another male inside the apartment suffering from gunshot wounds.”
Newsham told reporters at 9:30 p.m. that the wounded person was in critical condition. Police said a representative from the medical examiner’s office later pronounced the man dead.
Police officials could not immediately say how much time elapsed from the initial shooting about 7 p.m. to when police found Alphonzo Carter in the bathroom.
Renee Carter said her mother told police at some point that Alphonzo was alone in the apartment and had been injured.
A police spokesman would not immediately comment beyond what the chief told reporters Monday night.
Authorities described a confusing scene when they arrived and said the first responding officers were immediately confronted outside the apartment building by a gunman who fired on them. Newsham said one or more officers returned fire, adding, “It sounds like the officer didn’t have much choice.”
Police released a photo of a Taurus .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun they said was found outside the apartment building. Authorities said officers who fired have been placed on leave, as is typical in such an investigation, and their body camera videos are being reviewed.
Stephen Bigelow Jr., the chairman of the union that represents District officers, said officers confronted a “difficult situation” with “lots of unknowns.” He added: “We just had an officer get shot. We’re not going to send another group of officers who didn’t have the proper protective gear in there.”
Bigelow said the wounded officer, who officials did not identify, “is doing good and is in good spirits.” He said the bullet pierced his badge and struck his protective vest.
Renee Carter said her brother Eric, a construction worker, had been prescribed opioid drugs years earlier after a vehicle accident that injured his spine, then developed a dependence. She said he had been in a residential treatment program and had left or signed out over the weekend, complaining that someone had stolen money from him.
She said that it appeared Eric had been making a steady recovery but that his girlfriend thought he had been acting out of sorts over the past few days.
Eric decided to stay overnight with their 76-year-old mother, Gloria Carter, and his brother, Alphonzo, who lived with her as a caretaker. Renee Carter said she did not know Eric had a weapon or how he obtained one.
For reasons that remain unexplained, Renee Carter said Eric kicked down the bathroom door and repeatedly shot Alphonzo. She said their mother ran to a neighbor’s apartment, from where police were called.
She said her mother could hear the gunshots that killed one son and, moments later, the gunshots that killed her other son.
“We have to get answers,” said Renee Carter, now the last surviving sibling. “This is a tragedy.”
