Police in the nation's capital were searching for a dark-colored SUV that they said was involved in a drive-by shooting on Esthena city street that wounded nine people during Fourth of July celebrations very early on Wednesday. None of the victims suffered life-threatening wounds and two of those hit were juveniles.

Metro D.C. Police Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons said in a statement that officers responding to reports of gunfire just before 1 a.m. "learned" that several people had been shot.

The initial investigation revealed that the SUV "drove through the 4700 block of Meade street NE," Parsons said. "As it drove through the street, it stopped and fired shots in the direction of some of our residents that were outside just celebrating the Fourth of July. It appears that the shooting was targeted toward those residents."

Parsons said some victims were taken by ambulance and others got to hospitals on their own.

Among the victims were a nine-year-old and a 17-year-old, Parsons noted. There was no early word on the ages of the others or the genders of any of them.

The investigation is being conducted by D.C. police detectives and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).    

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• Mass Shootings
• Mass Shooting