Officer shoots, injures Southeast DC man during traffic stop

An investigation is underway after a D.C. police officer shot and wounded a man in Southeast D.C. during a traffic stop on Sunday morning.

The Metropolitan Police Department said an officer discharged their service weapon on 48-year-old Donald Willis while performing a traffic stop in the 500 block of Alabama Avenue, Southeast, just before 4 a.m.

Officers had been dispatched to the area after a community member reported a suspicious vehicle, D.C. police said in a news release. They found a vehicle fitting the description, and conducted a stop.

The department said the officer fired his weapon following an “interaction” with the vehicle’s driver, Willis, but did not provide details on what led to the shooting.

An injured Willis fled the scene in his vehicle and arrived at an area hospital seeking treatment, where he was subsequently placed under arrest.

Willis has been charged with assaulting a police officer, possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device and fleeing from a law enforcement officer.

The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave per department policy while the case remains under investigation.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact D.C. police at 202-727-9099.

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