A 6-year-old girl was killed in a Washington mass shooting

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A 6-year-old girl was killed and five adults were injured in a mass shooting in southeast Washington, DC, late Friday, police said.

Police said that officers heard gunfire around 11:10 p.m. and when they responded, a group of people ran towards them.

A 6-year-old girl was killed, said Ashan Benedict, assistant chief of police, adding that three men and two women were also injured. He said their injuries are not life-threatening.

“We are responding to too many calls for children affected by the shootings,” he said, asking for help from the public for any information.

Police did not provide any details about the suspect and said they were looking for videos and witnesses. No other details of the shooting were immediately available.

**Republished without audio overlap** 7.17.21 Assistant CEO Benedict provides an on-scene summary of the shooting incident at 2900 block of MLK Ave SE pic.twitter.com/NAfwOF1IqV

Metropolitan Police Department (DCPoliceDept) July 17, 2021

Washington, D.C. saw 198 murders in 2020, an increase of 19 percent from the previous year when there were 166 murders, according to police statistics. The data showed that last year was the third consecutive year in which murders increased.

Shootings and killings also increased in other cities across the country.

President Joe Biden’s administration said law enforcement teams were launched in five cities, including Washington, D.C., to target smuggling corridors that send weapons into those cities, last month.

Phil Hillsell is a reporter for NBC News.

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