2 Kids Aged 6 And 9 Shot As Attackers Storm Bus To Assault Passenger

Two children aged 9 and 6 were shot as they were getting off a bus in Washington D.C. A third male victim was also injured in the shooting.

The incident began with an altercation that took place Wednesday at around 4 p.m. on a Metrobus.

The two children, a boy and a girl were accompanied by adults and were on their way back home from school when a group of people rushed into the packed Metrobus at a stop in the Brightwood neighborhood. The group of seven people assaulted one of the passengers inside the bus before moving the fight onto the sidewalk, according to NBC Washington.

One of the assailants brandished a gun and opened fire. Police said the intended target was not struck.

The two kids had just stepped out of the bus when they got caught in the crossfire. The injured children got back inside the bus before the driver drove the vehicle further down the road.

The third victim, an adult male, ran to a nearby apartment building after being shot twice in the gunfire.

All three victims were taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

"These are two of our kids that were shot on the bus, or as they got off the bus and that's very disturbing to me, I know it's very upsetting for the mayor and for everybody else that's standing behind me whose coming to work, day in and day out to make sure that the citizens and the kids of our city are safe," Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said at a news conference following the shooting. "I mean, this is unacceptable, man."

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also spoke at the press conference and addressed the shooting, according to the New York Post.

"An idiot with a gun shot it indiscriminately and shot two children," Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

"Know what you're doing when you're six years old? You're coloring in coloring books, you're playing dress up with your siblings, you're going to birthday parties. It's what you do when you're six years old," Bowser continued. "You shouldn't be fighting for your life or recovering from a gunshot because of an idiot with a gun who doesn't care about his own life. Who doesn't care about theirs."

Police are still investigating the shooting and are on the lookout for the group of attackers and the shooter.

The shooter was described as a Hispanic male in his 20s wearing dark pants and a dark jacket. Officials urged the public to come forward with any information that could lead to an arrest.