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       D.C. police are investigating the possibility that an officer wounded in a shootout with a man last week in Southeast Washington was struck by gunfire from a fellow officer, according to three department officials.

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       Those officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a case under investigation, cautioned that the inquiry is in its opening stages and that no conclusion has been reached. The possibility of a friendly-fire incident was first disclosed by a reporter for WRC-TV (Channel 4) on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

       Two of the department officials said both the gunman, who was killed by police, and the responding officers were armed with 9-millimeter handguns. They said the bullet that struck the officer, who had graduated from the academy three weeks earlier, can’t be removed for medical purposes, so a comparison cannot be made.

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       The rookie officer has been discharged from the hospital, police said.

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       Paris Lewbel, a spokesman for the police department, said in a statement, “The circumstances of the incident remain under investigation by [the] … Internal Affairs Division.”

       Lewbel said that the officer was struck once and that the man who was killed, Arthur Porter, 33, of Northwest Washington, was hit multiple times “as he fired shots toward officers.”

       D.C. police officer shot three weeks after graduating from academy

       The shooting occurred Thursday in the 2800 block of Gainesville Street SE, in the Naylor Gardens area. Police said officers had responded to calls about a man with a gun who was arguing with two women. The officers confronted him, police said, and he ran, shooting at them during a pursuit.

       Police said the wounded officer, who has not been publicly identified, was airlifted to a hospital and on Friday was released.

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       Authorities said last week that at least two officers fired their weapons. On Monday, two police officials said the officer who was wounded did not fire his gun. Police are expected this week to release body-camera footage from the officers who fired their weapons.

       The three police officials said that the video shows a running gun battle and that it is not clear who fired the bullet that hit the officer.

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