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Washington, D.C., police revealed on Monday that so-called “sniper” shooting suspect Raymond Spencer had fired more than 200 rounds from a fifth-floor apartment and set up a camera in the hallway to watch approaching officers before investigators said he killed himself inside a bathroom.
At a press conference on the fourth day since the high-profile shooting, D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee said investigators still know little about the potential motive of the suspect or his financial background, including “how such a young man” could afford leases on at least two apartments and expensive firearms.
“We know that an excess of over 200 rounds were fired from this sniper, from this apartment on Van Ness Street,” D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee told reporters Monday. “We know that he had 800 rounds – un-spent, un-shot rounds – at his disposal inside his location in Van Ness.”
VIDEO OF ‘SNIPER-TYPE’ DC SHOOTING SUSPECT WHO SHOT PEOPLE AT RANDOM BEING ANALYZED: POLICE
“We have an entire city who was terrorized by this case,” the chief added.
The 23-year-old Spencer is accused of indiscriminately opening fire from a fifth-floor apartment window at approximately 3:18 p.m. Friday, sending a barrage of bullets down onto Van Ness Street.
DC police on Saturday identified 23-year-old Raymond Spencer as the suspected gunman found dead inside an apartment investigators deemed his “sniper’s nest.”
(DC Metro Police )
The shooting happened shortly before the nearby college preparatory Edmund Burke School’s afternoon dismissal. A total of four people were shot, including a 12-year-old girl and a retired police department member. As of Monday, two of the victims remained in critical condition at area hospitals.
“He certainly intended to do what he did. I just don’t know why,” Contee said. “Had he waited a few minutes, when there’s dismissal going on, he wouldn’t have had to shoot at a window or cars. He could have actually shot at more people who were on the street at that point. It’s hard to say at this point.”
The chief also addressed a recent report by Fox 5 DC that revealed the girlfriend of the suspect shot and killed by Secret Service after breaking into the Peruvian ambassador’s home in a recent, separate incident lives in the same Van Ness Street apartment building where Spencer leased the unit to carry out his crime. The report said the woman did not know her neighbor.
DC Metro Police released photos showing weapon’s found in the apartment where suspected gunman Raymond Spencer was found deceased.
(DC Metro Police )
“We don’t know if one has anything to do with another or if it’s just a coincidence, but if there is, I’m certainly sure that through this investigation we’ll determine a connection if there is one,” Contee said.
The chief detailed how several cars were shot up during the Van Ness incident, including one belonging to a nearby embassy and another that belonging to an individual picking up someone at that time. The velocity of the rounds of fire from the rifles recovered can go thousands of yards, Contee said.
D.C. Metro police have recovered at least nine firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition in connection to the incident.
Investigators determined Spencer had rented an apartment on Van Ness St. since January of this year. Surveillance footage shows him wheeling in suitcase as the Van Ness Street location, Contee said.
Police evacuate people, including Sarah Cope running with her dog, near the scene of a shooting Friday, April 22, 2022, in northwest Washington. At least four people were shot when a gunman unleashed a flurry of bullets in the nation’s capital. The hail of gunfire led to lockdowns at several schools and left a community on edge before the suspect was found dead hours later.
((AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster))
Police have said he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside. At that location, police recovered four long guns and two handguns. Three of the long guns were fully automatic, Contee said.
“There was a camera set up in the hallway so that he could see approaching officers,” the chief added.
The chief said investigators determined Spencer had a second apartment in Fairfax County, Virginia, where police recovered three additional constructs of long gun rifles, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition. Spencer had rented that Virginia apartment since February 2021.
Spencer attended Wheaton High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, was a lifeguard at some point and spent a brief period of a few months in the U.S. Coast Guard in 2017, Contee confirmed.
“We’re trying to understand all the different facets of this investigation. Financially, how was he able to purchase these firearms and rent these two apartments?” Contee said. “There are a lot of things that we need to know that we don’t know. But I am certain through collaboration with our community partners, as well as with our federal partners that we will no doubt get to the bottom of this.”
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Contee said Spencer shot himself as officers began to make entry into the apartment. Officers rammed the door, which was blocked by a refrigerator. No psychical letters were found at the location, but investigators are also examining his online activity as they continue to examine a potential motive.
The Washington Post previously reported that Spencer allegedly had posted online and potentially shared body-camera-like footage of himself during the course of the shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 202-727-9099 or Text 50411.
