Why News Outlets Didn't Cover the D.C. Shooting That Wounded 3 People

Background: On Friday, a shooter formed a “sniper-like setup” in a fifth-floor apartment in Northwest Washington DC. He indiscriminately shot at people and wounded three adults and a child. The story received little media coverage.

The shooter: The shooter has been identified as Raymond Spencer, 23. An image of his setup shows "a picture hanging on the wall appeared to depict Yakub, a mythical Black scientist written about by Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad.” The Nation of Islam is a black nationalist group.

The guns: The shooter used illegal automatic weapons and reportedly fired over 100 rounds. The manufacture or importation of new machine guns for sale to civilians has been banned since 1986 to prevent mass shootings. Additionally, Washington D.C. has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. It is unknown how he acquired the weapons.