Photo: D.C. Metro Police
Authorities have provided new details about a shooting on Friday (April 22) in Washington, D.C., that left four people injured. The D.C. Metropolitan Police identified the shooter as 23-year-old Raymond Spencer and said that he was found dead in his fifth-floor apartment from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
When they searched the apartment, investigators found what was described as a "sniper's nest." They said that Spencer had multiple rifles and handguns along with a tripod stand for a firearm.
"This was very much a sniper-type set up with a tripod, and this person, obviously, his intent was to kill and hurt members of the community," D.C. Metro Chief Robert Conte said. "The suspect was shooting from north to south and was shooting at people randomly."
According to the Washington Post, Spencer made a cryptic post on 4chan moments after the shooting.
"Dear God please forgive me," he reportedly wrote.
He also appeared to taunt the police as they searched his building.
"They're in the wrong part of the building right now searching XD," he said.
"Waiting for police to catch up with me," he added in a later post.
Officials have not determined a motive for the shooting, in which Spencer randomly fired hundreds of rounds at people on the street. He reportedly viewed the Wikipedia pages for the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida, and the recent shooting on a New York City subway.
Investigators are also analyzing a video showing bullets shattering glass panels along a walkway at the Edmund Burke School. It is unclear if the school was specifically targeted by Spencer.