A U.S. Park Police officer driving an unmarked Tesla was shot and seriously injured Monday night in what authorities described as an ambush in Southeast Washington, police said at a news conference.
The officer was struck in the upper body and drove several blocks in the white vehicle before being flown by helicopter to a hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.
Police said he is expected to survive. No arrests have been made.
“The officer was ambushed by at least two gunmen,” U.S. Park Police Chief Scott Brecht told reporters.
The injured officer was the vehicle’s sole occupant, police said.
The shooting occurred after 7:30 p.m. in the 5100 block of Drake Place SE, in the Marshall Heights neighborhood, an area that in the past has been plagued by gun violence.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X that she is in touch about the shooting with Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the city’s interim police chief, Jeffrey W. Carroll.
“Please pray for the officer’s recovery,” Bondi said in the post.
Bowser tweeted that the officer’s injuries were not life-threatening.
“Our prayers are with the officer for a quick recovery and we are grateful for all our law enforcement officers and first responders for their quick response,” she posted.
Brecht said the officer was working undercover in the area conducting an investigation. It was not immediately clear if the officer was in uniform.
Carroll said there is “an indication” that the shooters knew they were targeting a police officer. It is not yet known whether the shooters are connected to the incident the officer was investigating.
Park police typically patrol the District’s parks that include the National Mall and numerous smaller parks throughout the city. Their jurisdiction is broad.
Police said at least one surveillance camera captured the shooting. Authorities would not immediately describe the firearms believed to have been used.
Drake Place is also named Queens Stroll Place in honor of the 1991 visit by Queen Elizabeth II, who visited schoolchildren.
A Washington Post analysis in 2021 showed that in a little more than three years, crime scene technicians found 2,759 bullet casings — by-products of shootings involving rifles, pistols and shotguns — in about a one-square-mile area that includes Marshall Heights.
It was among the highest concentrations of bullet casings collected in the city in that period, a stark demonstration of how many times triggers were pulled.
