by Larry Janezich
Posted October 19, 2026
Last night about 11:10pm, a fight broke out on the 400 block of Barracks Row in front of an establishment on the block. According to interim Police Chief Jeffrey Carroll who held an early morning press conference on the scene, there were gunshots fired and nearby National Guard members exited a nearby van and intervened. The suspect ignored Guard commands to drop the weapon and fired a shot at the Guard who “discharged their weapons “ In an exchange of gunfire, the Guard member was shot in the leg and the shooter was shot in the abdomen. Carroll said in a an early morning press conference at the scene that both of the wounded were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. This was the second time individuals have been shot this year on the block. Here’s the video from Carroll’s news conference as posted on X: https://x.com/DCPoliceDept/status/2112072633630212106
The troubled 400 block of Barracks Row has grown increasingly rowdy on weekend nights and MPD has established a strong weekend night time presence. Last Saturday, they cleared an after-midnight gathering on the block, an increasingly frequent occurrence not only there but spilling over to late night gatherings on the 700 and 800 block of E Street, SE.
At the last MPD community meeting on October 6, a resident told 1st District Commander Colin Hall that the disturbances on E Street had flared up again after quieting down for a time. Hall said MPD would deploy a Crime Suppression team to send a message that the street is not a good place to hang out.
