Violence in U Street corridor continues with deadly Saturday morning shooting

WASHINGTON - Metropolitan police are investigating another shooting that left a man dead on U Street in Northwest D.C.

It’s the latest in a series of deadly shootings on the popular street that’s home to several restaurants, bars and clubs.

The shooting happened in the early morning hours Saturday. Officers responded to the 900 block of U Street around 3:38 a.m. where they found a man with a gunshot wound.

The victim, later identified as 24-year-old Diamonte Lewis of Southeast, D.C., was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lewis’ death comes just three days after police say a transgender woman was assaulted before being hit and killed by a car in front of Nellie's Sports Bar, also in the 900 block of U Street.

Investigators say the victim was 30-year-old Anee Roberson. She ended up in the road following the assault and was then struck by a passing vehicle. The driver remained on the scene and was not involved in the assault but her death has been ruled a homicide with the cause of death being multiple blunt force injuries.

Police are working to identify suspects in her assault, and are offering $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

Back in August, 20-year-old David Botchway was arrested in the shooting death of 19-year-old Andre Baker, who was found in the 1200 block of U Street, Northwest around 5 a.m. on Aug. 6. with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Before that, a man was gunned down at 13th and U Street. The family of 33-year-old Denzel Greenwood described him as a nice guy, who loved people, his cat Isis, and liked to listen to Bob Marley reggae music.

Greenwood was on the sidewalk in the 1900 block of 13 Street Northwest around 1:30 a.m. when he was shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His mother and father do not know why he was out so late, but they believe he went to a club on U Street. No suspect has been arrested in that fatal shooting.

The ongoing violence in the area is something District leaders and D.C. police have been working to address.

In May, they formed the U Street Nightlife Task Force to tackle the uptick in violence, and control what neighbors say is excessive parties, loud noises specifically coming from ATVs, parking enforcement, and people arguing outside of nightlife establishments — leading to fights and chaos.

"The nightlife task force that was stood up by the Deputy Mayor of Public Safety earlier in 2022 has made a dramatic impact in our club zone or our nightlife areas," James Boteler, Commander of D.C.'s Third District told FOX 5 earlier this month. "With the stand up of the nightlife task force we've seen a reduction in that type of crime."

But data from the Metropolitan Police Department tells a different story.

According to a search of their Crime Cards, an online platform that allows users to search for crime type by police district and geographical areas, robberies along the U Street corridor increased since the task force started

Right now, police are continuing to search for the suspect in the Saturday shooting. Anyone with information in this case or any others is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099 or text a tip to 50411.