An argument that may have started at a carryout restaurant ended up with a stray gunshot that killed an 8-year-old girl in her Washington, D.C., living room. The Washington Post says the killing pushed the number of children slain in the city to 13 this year — one higher than in all of 2003. Homicides are down overall, but the city is plagued by random violence. Last month, a 45-year-old woman was shot in the back as she raced to protect a child from gunfire. In December, a 6-year-old girl was shot in the stomach while walking with her aunt.
“There is a culture of violence and attitude that exists among many people that leads to violence we’ve been witnessing,” said Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey. “There really is no explaining this.”
Police were pursuing leads in the latest case but had made no arrests as of last night.
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2178-2004May4.html