WASHINGTON - Police said a drive-by shooting at a Southeast D.C. bus stop was not a random act of violence, but investigators don't know who the shooters were targeting.
Ivy Tonett Smith, 39, of Northeast D.C., was killed and another man was wounded after they were hit by gunfire that came from a stolen minivan. A third victim suffered minor injuries from shattered glass. The two surviving victims were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The shooting happened just after 1 p.m. Sunday on Alabama Avenue.
Police said they are seeking information about a four-door Honda Odyssey with Maryland handicap tag 24169HT. The minivan was stolen from a church on Largo Road in Prince George's County in Maryland and was last seen about 36 hours before the murder. It was found abandoned after the shooting just a few blocks away in the 1700 block of S Street, SE.
D.C. police said the ignition of the minivan was not tampered with and that there were keys actually used to start the vehicle. So police believe someone had access to those keys and they are now trying to trace back to see where this minivan was in the 36 hours before the shooting.
Paul Trantham is the neighborhood's ANC commissioner and he came to the scene of the shooting after hearing the news.
"You could be shot right now standing here interviewing me," he said. "I could be shot because we have ignorant folks out here with guns. Lastly, where are these guns coming from? We keep asking that question."
"It pains me because I live in this neighborhood and I'm tired of it," said another D.C. resident. "I'm seriously tired of it. It breaks my heart because it could have been anyone. It could have been me standing out here with my kids."
Sunday's shooting happened very near where local reporter Charnice Milton was shot and killed in May of last year.