Washington, D.C
Questions emerge about events leading up to deadly house fire in Southeast DC
Four calls in four days to the same house on 23rd Street Southeast: a domestic fight, broken windows and small fires suspected of being deliberately set.
One call came just two hours before the raging blaze that trapped and ultimately overcame the home’s three occupants as they slept early Sunday morning.
At a press conference, questions emerged about how the fatal fire could have happened, given that police were already looking for the suspect in the earlier incidents, 56-year-old Robert Simpson.
Court documents in the case indicate 34-year-old victim Jessica Cunningham told officers called to the home Oct. 2 that she and Simpson were fighting over relationship issues.
At one point they had both lived in the home, along with 64-year-old victim Ronald McKinnon and his mother, 84-year-old Marion McKinnon, who also died from the fire.
Documents indicate the repeated targeting of the red brick home in the days and hours before the fatal fire left the occupants terrified of Simpson.
Cunningham managed to make a 911 call as she was trapped Sunday morning, screaming for help, saying, “He came back, the house is on fire!”
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith was asked why officers did not maintain a presence at the house to ensure the victim’s safety.
“It’s my understanding that based on what we know at this point that the officers remained in that area for well over an hour,” she said.
Adding to the layers of tragedy, News4 has learned Cunningham lost her two little daughters, ages 1-year-old and 6-months-old, in a house fire in Tennessee back in 2016. The fire was later determined to have been deliberately set by the children’s grandmother.
3 dead in multiple DC shootings
It’s been a violent start to the week in the District, as police investigate several shootings in just 24 hours. At least three people have been killed. FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick has the latest.
WASHINGTON – A violent start to the week in Washington, D.C., has left at least three people dead as police investigate multiple shootings in just 24 hours. Despite a 31% decrease in homicides citywide, a wave of gunfire since Monday morning has claimed several lives.
The latest incident occurred around 1 a.m. Tuesday on Edgewood Street in northeast D.C where a victim was critically injured. FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick reported up to 20 evidence markers at the scene near Edgewood Commons apartment building.
READ MORE: Back-to-back fatal shootings in DC leave two men dead
Monday began with a homicide at 10 a.m. on Eastern Avenue, near the Prince George’s County line. Minutes later, another man was shot and killed in the 4100 block of Southern Avenue, also near the county line in the Fort Davis area.
Police identified both victims as adults and stated that the shootings do not appear to be connected or random. These fatalities mark the 151st and 152nd homicides in D.C. this year.
READ MORE: Man killed in broad daylight shooting in northeast DC
Gunfire continued into the night, with a fatal shooting around 9 p.m. on T Street, across from McKinley Tech High School, marking the 153rd homicide of the year.
Two additional shootings were reported Monday night in southeast Washington, but there is no word yet on any victims.
D.C. police are expected to release the identities of the three men killed later Tuesday.
Man killed in broad daylight shooting in northeast DC
WASHINGTON – Two men were gunned down in separate shootings in Washington, D.C., Monday morning, less than five minutes apart.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the first incident occurred just before 10 a.m. on Eastern Avenue with the second shooting happening a few minutes later on Southern Avenue, approximately four miles away.
In both cases, police confirmed that a man was killed, and the suspects remain at large.
“We do not have a lot of information on what happened [on Eastern Avenue],” said MPD Chief Pamela Smith. “As I was coming here, the team is working diligently to provide an update on what has occurred on the Southern Avenue part of D.C.”
Police have indicated that the shootings do not appear to be connected or random, but there are no suspect descriptions available at this time.
These two killings, based on police records, bring the total number of homicides in the District of Columbia to 152 for the year, marking a 31% decrease from the 217 homicides reported at this time last year.
The names and ages of the victims have not yet been released, but officials expect to provide that information before the day is over.
Despite the proximity of both incidents to Prince George’s County, D.C. police are leading the investigations.
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