Around 6 p.m. on Thursday, first responders were called to the area of Anacostia Drive in Southeast D.C. for the report of a child in the river.

When they arrived, the five-year-old had already been pulled from the river by family members and others in the area.

D.C. Police said the unconscious boy was flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital by U.S. Park Police where he was pronounced dead.

Police believe this was an accidental drowning.

This story is developing.

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The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon in Riverdale, while officers were investigating a stabbing that had happened earlier in the day.

Police say the officers and Cheverly Police Chief David Morris, who was on duty at the time, came across a car in the 6600 block of Greenland Street connected to the stabbing.

They later spotted a man outside armed with knives who they believed to be the suspect.

Police say the suspect “charged” at Morris who then fired his gun in response, according to a news release. The man died at the scene.

Police said two knives were recovered from the scene.

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division is investigating the shooting.

Chief Morris is now on restricted duty status pending the outcome of the investigation.

See a map of the shooting location below:

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Kara McMurray, a former officer with the Prince George’s County Police Department, was awarded the damages in a June 17 ruling from the U.S. District Court in Maryland. The court found PGCPD liable for battery, false imprisonment, and civil rights violations stemming from a 2017 incident involving then-Lt. Richard Tallant.

McMurray said Tallant assaulted her at a Fraternal Order of Police lodge in February 2017. She didn’t report the assault immediately, citing fears of retaliation due to Tallant’s ties within the department.

The case came to light two years later, in June 2019, when another PGCPD officer — who was dating Tallant — reported the incident, triggering an internal investigation. That probe quickly leaked, and McMurray said she became the target of rumors, verbal abuse and harassment from fellow officers.

The investigation was later transferred to the State’s Attorney’s Office, and Tallant was convicted in December 2019 of a second-degree sexual offense.

McMurray ultimately resigned in 2021, citing a hostile work environment, lost advancement opportunities and difficulty securing outside employment.

In a separate ruling last month, the court found PGCPD also violated Title VII protections and ordered the department to pay McMurray both back and front pay.

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It happened around 6 p.m. on Ogden Place in the Columbia Heights area.

D.C. police said the stray bullet came from the back of the apartment building, noting that they do not believe the man was the intended target.

Executive Assistant Chief Andre Wright told reporters that the department “intends to get to the bottom of this.”

“This is tragic. There’s no doubt about it,” Wright said. “Everyone deserves to feel safe, not just in community but in their residence.”

Police are still searching for a suspect, and are offering a $25,000 reward for information that assists in the case.

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Arlington County police said Alex Alexeyev, 25, of Arlington, was arrested around 3:30 a.m. in the 3100 block of Clarendon Boulevard after a patrol officer deployed pepper spray on the Capitals defenseman.

Police said officers on patrol in the Clarendon area were flagged down by a witness who reported “an active fight outside a business” between Alexeyev and another person.

A first-round pick by the Capitals in the 2018 NHL Draft, Alexeyev made his NHL debut in 2021.

Alexeyev’s contract with the Capitals expires this summer and he’s slated to become a restricted free agent, .

The Carolina Hurricanes ended the Capitals’ season last week.

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Montgomery County police said it happened just before 7 p.m. in the 800 block of University Boulevard East.

When police arrived, officers found an unidentified man who had been shot. He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

MCPD is investigating a shooting in the 800 block of University Boulevard East.

An adult male victim has been transported to an area hospital in critical condition. No suspect is in custody at this time.

The scene is secure.

— Montgomery County Department of Police (@mcpnews)

Police said they have not identified a suspect in the shooting.

������Ƶapp’s Ivy Lyons contributed to this report.

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Mark Freeman, an associate professor of clinical practice at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, said the most dangerous plants for pets this time of year are Christmas lilies. If consumed, they can be potentially fatal for cats.

“Cats really are very, very sensitive to lily toxins,” Freeman said. “Even just a little bit of lily toxin can be extremely damaging for them.”

Although most other holiday plants are harmful, but not considered deadly for pets, it’s best to keep those colorful bouquets of poinsettias and azaleas out of reach from our furry friends. Both plants are considered toxic to both dogs and cats.

“Holly tends to be more painful than toxic because of the needles on the leaves. They bite into those, that can be really painful for them,” he said.

Mistletoe is considered a Christmas staple and found in homes all around the world, but the plants’ berries can be harmful to cats and dogs.

“A little bit is not likely to cause a significant problem, but if they get into quite a bit of it, that can be really toxic for them as well,” Freeman said.

You should contact your local veterinarian or animal hospital if you think your pet has consumed a plant that’s considered toxic.

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While everyone loves the look and even the smell of a fresh tree, not everyone knows how to properly take care of one.

Beth Bossio, manager of in Smithfield, Pennsylvania, told ������Ƶapp proper care is important in keeping your tree looking fresh through the end of the holiday season. This includes keeping your holiday trees properly watered once you’ve set up your tree in your home.

“After you get that fresh cut, the key is getting it in water as soon as possible,” Bossio said. “You need to get it in water, right away.”

Along with placing your tree in a stand that can hold a gallon of water, Bossio said it’s important to make sure the water level never goes below the trunk of your tree. If that happens, the bottom of the tree can seal up, making it dry out.

Besides proper watering, where you place your tree can also play a part in how long it stays looking fresh.

Leaving your tree near a heat source, like a vent, could speed up the drying process.

“Try to keep it away from anything that’s going to dry out your tree, like a fireplace,” Bossio said. “You don’t want to put it right beside a fireplace or even a window.”

It’s also important to keep an eye on how your Christmas decorations wear down your tree. Heavy decorations or hot lights can also dry out your tree.

“Those older lights, it’s time to throw those out and get some better, new lights,” Bossio said. “Unplug your lights when you leave your house, you don’t need to have those on all day long.”

With proper care, Bossio said your tree should make it past Christmas and into the new year.

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Having to take your child to the emergency room is always a scary and nerve-wracking experience. Two local families went through just that when their kids got sick and had to be hospitalized recently. But this week, they received some positive news.

They get to go home — just in time for the holidays.

Katie and Brian Martin from D.C. have been staying at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital for over two weeks while their 1-year-old daughter, Summer, gets treated for a serious respiratory infection.

“We had her in the ER, and then she was admitted here and was ultimately intubated, but she’s on the other side of it, which is a testament to how great the staff and everyone is here,” Katie Martin said. “She looks like a different baby from last week.”

Martin said she and her husband have been trading 12-hour shifts at the hospital, while the other takes care of their 5-year-old son at home.

Martin said Summer is feeling better and will only need to quarantine and take some medications moving forward.

“This is all we wanted for Christmas this year,” Martin said. “A healthy kiddo back home.”

Another mother is also feeling the same kind of relief this week. Jacqueline Coates, of D.C., has also been staying at MedStar Georgetown, while her 6-year-old daughter, Jade, receives treatment for complications from pneumonia.

“It is very hard to see her so sick. She’s normally such a good kid, so to see her cry or just be miserable, I felt so helpless,” Coates said. “What am I supposed to do? But I did what I did and took her to the hospital.”

Coates said Jade is on the mend now and relieved to be able to go home.

She and other kids at the hospital got a special visit from Santa Claus on Tuesday, and she received a celebratory teddy bear.

“We didn’t get to go see Santa at the mall like we normally do,” Coates said. “So to still get to see him is a good surprise for her.”

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Santa Claus is known all around the world for his iconic sleigh and reindeer that he uses to get around on Christmas Eve; but this week in D.C., he traded them in for a much different mode of transportation.

A brightly colored, blue and yellow medical helicopter.

On Tuesday morning, Santa landed on the rooftop helipad of the Verstandig Pavilion at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital with a bag full of gifts for children receiving care.

It was the first time the hospital brought Santa in since the pandemic. Katie Wallace, the Child Life Coordinator at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, said the visit meant a lot to the kids and their families.

“It just brings some joy to them when they’re in the hospital,” Wallace said. “It’s not fun to be in the hospital and to have a sick child, especially around the holidays, so having something like this come just breaks up the day, and it just is really fun for some of these families”

Throughout the day, Santa delivered books and stuffed animals to children in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care, Pediatric Intensive Care and Transplant units.

Santa also received several hugs in return, including a few from Jade, a 6-year-old girl who’s been staying at the hospital due to complications from pneumonia.

Her mother, Jacqueline Coates, said the visit really helped put a smile on Jade’s face.

“I’m glad that they were able to coordinate this because I think that it’s really good for the kids, especially during the season when they’re all feeling ill, to have that little bit of cheer and hope,” Coates said.

Santa also paid a visit to several younger kids staying at the hospital, including 1-year-old Summer, who’s been in the ICU because of a respiratory infection.

Her parents, Katie and Brian Martin, said the visit meant a lot to them.

“We’ve been here for a little while, and it’s hard to be in the hospital any time, especially the holidays. So, we’re enormously grateful for the team here for both bringing her back to help and also keeping her spirits up while we’re stuck here,” Katie Martin said.

The hospital is hoping to make Santa’s helicopter ride and visit to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital an annual tradition.

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As part of National Pedestrian Safety Month, the council is launching a new Street Smart safety campaign with the slogan,

The campaign aims to cut down on distracted and impaired driving this fall and winter, when there’s fewer daylight hours and decreased visibility on the road.

“In 2023, we know that there were 110 pedestrian and seven bicyclist deaths in the national capital region,” said Chrissy Nizer, head of Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration. “All of those 117 deaths were preventable.”

As part of the campaign, local police departments will step up enforcement of traffic safety laws that are meant to keep pedestrians and bicyclists safe.

“Maintaining pedestrian and bicycle safety is paramount and it should be the top priority of everyone using our roads,” said Carlos Heraud, assistant chief of D.C.’s police department. “Toward that goal, MPD increased patrols in high pedestrian areas, particularly near schools, to foster compliance and safety.”

Street Smart teams will also act as walking billboards in areas where pedestrian-involved crashes tend to happen most. They’ll wear large signs with images of people during important life events and feature the campaign’s message.

“It talks about all of those important life events that we all want to share with our families and friends,” Nizer said. “Whether that’s graduation, a wedding, or moving into a new home, just thinking about that when you’re out on the road tells you that there are consequences for driving distracted.”

Mike Doyle from Virginia is a crash survivor and founder of the Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets advocacy group.

He said education is an important part of keeping the region’s roadways safe.

“This Street Smart program helps us to amplify the message of ‘slow down, be aware and just be considerate to save a life,'” Doyle said.

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Police said that they went to the block of Tuckerman Street outside Lamond Recreation Center before 8 p.m. for a report of a shooting.

Upon arrival, they found two boys — ages 14 and 18 — suffering from gunshot wounds. The younger boy, identified as David Bailey of Northeast, D.C., was pronounced dead while the 18-year-old was taken to a hospital.

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference that this shooting is “another example of the senseless gun violence” in the city.

“This incident happened at a recreation center where our young people should be able to come and recreate and have a good time and enjoy themselves,” Smith said. “To have individuals who again have no regard that it’s OK to shoot into a crowd of individuals is very disturbing.”

Police are investigating this shooting and are looking for a man seen wearing black pants and a blue surgical mask.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 202-727-9099.

Below is a map of the area where the shooting took place:

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The shooting happened around 6 p.m. in the 1600 block of W Street SE in the Anacostia neighborhood.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found two men and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds. They were conscious and breathing when they were taken to a nearby hospital, where one of the men later died. The condition of the other two injured in the incident is unknown at this time.

Below is a map of where the shooting took place:

The shooting remains under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact D.C. Police at 202-727-9099 or by text at 50411.

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The judge ordered 48-year-old Wilson Chavis, of Hughesville, to be held without bond until his next court appearance in July.

He’s been charged with first- and second-degree murder in the shooting death of 30-year-old Ronald Banks, of D.C., who served as a pallbearer at Washington National Cemetery in Suitland on Tuesday.

Police said it happened around 1:20 p.m. just as the funeral service for 10-year-old Ariana Davis was about to begin. Davis was hit by a stray bullet while riding home in the back seat of a car in Northeast D.C. on Mother’s Day and died a few days later.

Chavis got into a confrontation with two people who worked for another funeral service company over a “long-standing business dispute” he’d apparently had, according to police.

Chavis tripped over the concrete vault lid near the gravesite and fell to the ground, police said. He pulled out his gun and shot Banks and a woman before fleeing the scene in a vehicle before being detained.

Banks and the woman were taken to a hospital. Police said that he died, and the woman was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Prince George’s County Police Maj. David Blazer said at a news conference that the shooting was unrelated to the funeral of Ariana Davis.

������Ƶapp’s Tadiwos Abedje contributed to the story.

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Officers said it happened at around 8:45 p.m. outside an apartment building in Prince George’s County in the 6000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Highway.

When officers arrived, the department said, they found a man who was shot in the upper body. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.

Two other men wounded in the same shooting walked into a hospital with injuries but are expected to survive the shooting. A suspect in the shooting has not been identified.

An approximate shooting location is included below.

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