A shooting at a Washington DC school has left one child injured and two adults in severe condition, as authorities continue to look for a culprit.

Around 3:20 pm on Friday afternoon, authorities responded to a shooting near Edmund Burke School in Washington, DC.

The shooting injured two adult males and one minor female, according to DC Metro Police.

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A man and a woman are in stable but critical condition, Emerman said, updating an earlier report from a police source who said two men had been shot. A girl is also being treated for a minor gunshot wound. All three are being treated at local hospitals.

At a later media briefing, Emerman said a fourth victim, whom he described as a woman in her mid-60s, was grazed by a bullet but did not have to go to the hospital.

Despite recordings catching the sound of shooting, police said they do not yet know what type of weapon was used.

The suspect that injured four persons has died, according to DC Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee.

“The suspect that we believe is responsible for this is now deceased,” Contee refused to identify the suspect until notification of next of kin. “We believe that the suspect took his own life as MPD members were entering or breaching the apartment where the suspect was located.”

Contee stated that police are not hunting for another suspect.

Earlier, Assistant Chief Stuart Emerman of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department listed Raymond Spencer, 23, as a person of interest. It was unclear whether Spencer was still in the neighbourhood.

Spencer is not a suspect, according to Emerman. Contee would not specify whether Spencer was the deceased suspect, but he did state that “we are no longer looking for that person of interest.”

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“Several people, naturally, ran from the scene after hearing gunshots and as the officers responded very quickly to the scene, as individuals were running, we did detain several individuals to determine their status,” officials stated, adding that they do not believe any suspects have been apprehended at this time.

Officials stated that they have not yet verified the social media footage circulating claiming to be from the incident.

They do believe the gunshots were in the “immediate area” of the school, but they are working to confirm this.

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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has stepped in to help DC Metro police. Agents from the Secret Service have also been dispatched to the location.

The school is still under lockdown. Police are present at the school and will notify parents when it is safe to begin the reunification process. Officials are requesting that parents refrain from sending their children to school at this time.

Following the incident, Howard University and the University of Washington both issued shelter-in-place orders, instructing their students and staff to “take shelter and stay in place until further notice.”

For others in the region, the Cleveland Park Library has a well-established Family Reunification Site. Those looking for a missing family member or kid are invited to visit this site and speak with Metro Police Department and other aiding organisations.

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Footage from the event shows officers with their rifles drawn taking individuals away from the Edmund Burke area.

Neighbors are also seen being brought in a single file line out of a Van Ness Street apartment complex by police.

Other citizens were spotted sprinting with officers to safety in what was described as an extremely stressful scenario.

Witnesses at the site told WLTX that as the gunfire occurred, they noticed people running about and hiding under cars.