A 15-year-old girl died after police said two teens found a firearm while alone.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — D.C. police said an unsecured illegal firearm led to the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old girl Saturday night inside an apartment in the Washington Highlands neighborhood.
The girl was with another 15-year-old friend shortly before 7 p.m. inside an apartment on Barnaby Street SE, Interim Police Chief Jeffrey Carroll said. The teens found the gun while they were alone, police said. The firearm went off as the girls handled it, striking one of them in the head.
Officers responded to the apartment and found the wounded teen. She died at the scene. Carroll said the surviving teen set the gun down after the shooting and left to seek help. Police said the case was being treated as a tragic accident, not as an intentional shooting. “All this is caused by an illegal firearm that was not properly secured,” Carroll said.
An adult resident of the apartment was arrested because the weapon was illegal, unregistered and left where the teens could reach it, police said. Carroll said the resident was a family friend of the girls. Authorities did not immediately identify the adult or say what exact charges would be filed. The victim’s name also had not been released as of Sunday.
The shooting left residents and relatives in shock along Barnaby Street SE. Police remained at the apartment building as detectives worked to document where the gun was found and who had control of it before the teens entered the unit. Carroll said the two girls were friends and that neither lived in the apartment where the shooting happened.
The surviving teen was not charged at the time police spoke publicly about the case. Investigators said available evidence showed the gun went off by accident. Detectives were expected to continue interviews, review the firearm and prepare charges against the adult resident tied to the unsecured weapon.
The case remained active Sunday. Police said the next public update would depend on the filing of firearms charges and any findings from the continuing investigation.
Author note: Last updated June 7, 2026.