A DEADLY GANG WAR IS HAPPENING IN A HIGHLY GENTRIFIED WASHINGTON, DC, NEIGHBORHOOD

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Daily Caller

A deadly gang war is in progress in one of the most gentrified neighborhoods in the nation’s capital, and police say it will likely pursue through the summer.

Many of the shootings in Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C., this year were related to drugs, which are typically run by various gangs in Columbia Heights, according to Capt. Ralph McLean of the 3rd District Police Department. He confirmed to The Daily Caller News Foundation that there is an ongoing gang-based drug war in the D.C. neighborhood.

“We don’t know if it’s a dispute internal to the gang or a dispute between two gangs,” McLean told TheDCNF. He referred to the situation as an “internal dispute.” (RELATED: Drug Abuse Is Rampant Across US. DC Ranks Worst)

There were 12 reports of shootings in Columbia Heights between May 9 and April 29. Sometimes, multiple shootings were reported, according to posts from PoPville. Occasionally the police would arrive to find no perpetrators, just empty shell casings and bullet holes in cars.

There are multiple gangs in Columbia Heights, and they are all exclusively black or Latino, McLean said. In Washington, D.C., gangs are usually composed of a group or association of neighbors, and they are all “ethnospecific.”

Columbia Heights is also the face of gentrification in the District, with numerousnews reports touting its overall improvement.