WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the early hours of New Year’s Day, a young woman from Maryland was fatally shot at a hotel in Washington, D.C., marking the city’s first recorded homicide of 2024.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) identified the victim as Ashalei Hinds, an 18-year-old from Clinton, Maryland. Hinds was attending a party at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Military Road NW. According to a law enforcement source, around ten people were present when the shooting occurred.
Guests at the hotel recalled hearing two gunshots and subsequent screams at approximately 1:15 a.m. A window next to the door of the room where the incident took place was found shattered.
The shooter’s motivations and intended target remain uncertain. MPD is on the search for a male suspect seen fleeing the scene dressed in black clothing and a black ski mask. Additionally, authorities are also trying to locate as many as six party attendees who left the premises before the arrival of the police.
The management of Embassy Suites Hotel, located near the Friendship Heights Metro station on the D.C.-Maryland line, is cooperating with the police during the ongoing investigation.
The incident comes at a time when Washington, D.C., is grappling with a surge in homicides. The city concluded 2023 with 274 recorded cases, marking the highest figure in over two decades. Mayor Muriel Bowser has promised a response to this unsettling trend through forthcoming legislation.