VIA WTOP:

D.C. Police have arrested at least two more adults in connection with last month’s drive-by shooting in Southeast that killed four people and left five others wounded.

Police arrested two adults on Thursday afternoon. A third suspect is still being sought.

The arrests come as the District Attorney’s General Office dropped all charges against 14-year-old Malik Carter, who was thought to be involved in the shooting.

All 41 charges – including four counts of murder – were dropped Thursday after authorities discovered a D.C. Police officer misidentified the teen as being the driver of the getaway van, sources tell WTOP.

Authorities sought a special order from D.C. Superior Court for permission to release the teenager’s name.

Malik Carter’s name had been published in the Washington Examiner several times throughout the paper’s coverage of the shooting. (Most news organizations do not publish the names of juveniles unless they are convicted or charged as an adult.)

Authorities feared the teenager’s life would be in danger if there was no public announcement about the charges being dropped, according to the special order.

The public disclosure of the respondent as being involved in this crime has publicly labeled him as being involved in a serious crime and potentially compromised his safety. The respondent could face retribution for his perceived role in this offense. In addition, without a full explanation that he was not the driver of the vehicle, there may be speculation that he is a witness for the government. Publicly announcing the dismissal of charges and the reason for the dismissal would clarify the public record as to the respondent’s involvement and help ensure the respondent’s safety.

Two men – 20-year-old Orlando Carter and 26-year-old Nathaniel Simms – have also been charged in the March 30 shooting, which killed four people and left five others wounded.

At the time, authorities said the 14-year-old was behind the wheel of the minivan. The minivan drove past the apartment building on South Capitol Street, and a gunman sprayed bullets from an AK-47 type weapon that was later thrown from the vehicle.

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VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

Thirteen shots flew into afternoon rush hour along I-95 southbound Tuesday after an enraged Jaguar driver pulled a gun on the driver of a Ford truck driver that twice had hit the shooter’s car as the pair muscled each other near a merge lane from Route 123, Virginia State Police said.

The Jaguar driver’s 2-year-old daughter was in the back seat as he got of his car, fired and hit the truck four times, said police. The men, both from Woodbridge, face charges. They, the girl and passing motorists were not injured in the incident.

Before the incident ended, both vehicles were briefly pinned along a Jersey barrier on the left side of I-95 and then sped along the right shoulder as the Jaguar driver pursued the truck as its driver fled after being fired on, state police said.

Police said the altercation — which they described as a “road rage incident” — unfolded shortly after 4 p.m., at the start of the evening rush hour, and wound up around half an hour later.

A Ford dump truck driven by James Bringham, 44, was merging onto the interstate from Route 123 “when it encountered” the Jaguar, driven by Gabriel Poventud, 25, state police said in a news release.

“The drivers of the two vehicles began engaging with one another in an aggressive manner,” the statement continued. The dump truck struck the Jaguar two times, and the vehicles “ended up on the left shoulder and pinned against the Jersey wall.”

Police alleged that Poventud got out of his car at that point, armed with a handgun, and fired 13 rounds at the truck, striking it at least four times.

The truck pulled out into traffic, and Poventud allegedly re-entered the Jaguar and gave chase.

About five miles later, the two cars were stopped by Virginia State Police Trooper B.W. Coleman, the statement said.

Poventud was charged with child endangerment, attempted homicide, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, shooting a missile into an occupied vehicle and reckless use of a firearm.

Bringham was charged with reckless driving.

State police said there were no reports of any other vehicles on I-95 being struck by bullets or any other motorists being injured during the incident.

This item has been updated since it was first published.

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VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

Police arrested 27 post-game revelers in College Park after the University of Maryland’s basketball win over Duke, officials said.

Accounts varied wildly, with some students saying they were acting peacefully when officers went overboard. Video footage aired by WUSA (Channel 9) showed what appears to be an officer clearly ramming a night stick into a young man’s head.

Police officials defended their actions Thursday morning, with one saying students’ behavior was “just ludicrous.” Top officials from the Prince George’s County Police Department are expected to address complaints as soon as this afternoon.

Some of the officers on the scene wore riot gear. Some were mounted on horses.

“We understand people want to celebrate the big win,” said Cpl. Larry Johnson, a spokesman for Prince George’s police. “But our main concern was the safety of the students and the residents of College Park. We have to maintain order as best as possible to maintain those interests.”

Johnson said about 1,500 people poured on Route 1 after the game and “started a civil disturbance.”

He didn’t know yet the exact charges levied against the 27 people arrested. Three had suffered minor injuries, but he did not know the nature of the injuries. Johnson said several police officers also suffered minor injuries. Police officials said that revelers threw small rocks, snowballs and chunks of crusted, icy snow at officers.

Four law enforcement agencies were on the scene: Prince George’s police, University of Maryland police, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission police and the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office.

Eric Nathan, 21, a senior from Columbia, said students were behaving well on Route 1 when police “started attacking people.”

“It was really incomprehensible because it was . . . totally unprovoked,” Nathan said.

He described an almost comical scene of police directing crowds of students into other police. Nathan said officers repeatedly aimed weapons at students, though he thinks they were loaded with rubber bullets or beanbag-type projectiles.

“We just pretty much walked in circles for an hour,” he said.

Paul Dillon, a spokesman for the University of Maryland police department, said many university officers were involved in post-game duties at the arena and were not along Route 1 when the crowd first formed. But Dillon said he eventually made his way down to the scene and said he saw people tossing 12-inch ice projectiles at officers.

“They were just picking up chunks and throwing them at police,” Dillon said.

He said officers acted properly. “I didn’t see any unprovoked or inappropriate force used by the county police at all,” he said.

Several times, police used an intercom to tell the crowd to break up.

“They needed to just get out of the area and go home, and they weren’t listening,” Dillon said.

After the students were moved off Route 1, packs of them moved back to the campus. “They set a tree on fire on the east side of Montgomery Hall,” Dillon said.

It’s unclear how the students did so, he said, but they may have wrapped clothes around the trunk and used an accelerant. Campus officers dispersed the crowd around the tree and put the fire out, Dillon said.

From there, students moved to McKeldin Mall, where they set fires inside trash cans, Dillon said.

He said the win was hardly a national championship and was an indication to him that some students were using the victory as an excuse to throw things at police.

“I don’t think it’s a reason to take over a street,” he said. “It’s pretty ridiculous. It’s immature.”

Of the 27 arrested, those who are students will face administrative review and the possibility of expulsion, Dillon said. “It’s not going to be tolerated,” he said.

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VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

Seventeen students at Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Prince George’s County were arrested and charged with assault Tuesday after a massive fight in a school hallway, police said.

The chaos erupted about 9:30 a.m., when a sheriff’s deputy was called to the second floor for a reported fight, police said. That deputy saw as many as 100 students fighting or watching the fracas, though school staff members moved quickly to break it up, police said.

It is unclear what sparked the incident, though investigators think it stemmed from a dispute between rival neighborhood crews known as Brightseat Road and Palmer Park, authorities said. Police said a student who was expelled from the school last year but allowed to return this year is believed to have been the primary instigator.

No one was seriously injured, although one student’s lip was split with a screwdriver, police said. His attacker, a 16-year-old boy, was charged as an adult with first-degree assault, police said. The other 16 students, 15 males and 1 female, were charged with second-degree assault, disorderly conduct and disruption of school activities.

Police did not identify any of those charged.

School officials disputed the police account, saying the incident began when an “adult male outsider” who transferred from Flowers last year reentered the school using his old ID.

The man, who had posted a threat a day earlier on his Facebook page directed at a rival crew, started the fight and then left, school officials said.

“What happened today is not symbolic or representative of what is going on at this school,” Principal Helena Nobles-Jones said in the statement. “The students of Flowers have made AYP(Adequate Yearly Progress) consistently and increasing student achievement remains our first priority.”

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