Two men have been arrested in connection with a shooting last month in Northwest Washington that killed three people and wounded three others, which police said they believe was retaliation for a shooting an hour earlier in a different neighborhood.

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       D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said the arrests should bring “some closure to the families of these victims,” all shot last month in the 600 block of Longfellow Street NW. The attack in Brightwood Park was one of the worst shootings in a year plagued by gun violence and homicides.

       Authorities identified the suspects as Erwin Dubose Jr., 27, of Northeast Washington, and Kamar Queen, 24, of no fixed address. Police said both men were charged with first-degree murder while armed. Contee said one of the suspects had a loaded gun when he was arrested on Wednesday and faces more gun-related charges.

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       The chief also said additional arrests in the case are expected.

       A D.C. Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered both men detained, rejecting arguments from their defense attorneys that clothing descriptions provided by witnesses were too vague. A prosecutor said she had evidence showing both men communicating before and after the deadly shooting. Both have arrest records and one was convicted of selling drugs while armed, she said.

       The victims who died included Keenan Braxton, 24, of Northwest, and Johnny Joyner, 37, of Northeast. Also killed was Donnetta Dyson of Northeast, a 31-year-old mother of two and a patient services assistant assigned to the operating room at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

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       The shooting frightened residents and angered Contee, who said at the time it spoke to an “overall sickness we’re seeing in our community.” Court documents filed Thursday say police believe the shooting was the result of a dispute between rival streets crews: the Riggs Park Crew in Northeast and the Kennedy Street Crew in Northwest.

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       Police said in an arrest affidavit that about 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 4, someone in an SUV opened fire on a group of people in the 900 block of Oglethorpe Street NE, striking one person in the arm. No one has been arrested in that case.

       Police said about an hour later, people who had been targeted on Oglethorpe Street drove to Longfellow Street, just under two miles away. Police said three men wearing masks and armed with guns, including a rifle, got out of a Honda while the driver stayed behind.

       The affidavit says two of the armed men “stealthily approached” the group on Longfellow and opened fire, shielding themselves behind a wall. Police said the third gunman opened fire from the street.

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       Police said they found 27 shell casings from three firearms. They said one of the assailants on Longfellow had been on Oglethorpe.

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       At a news conference Thursday, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said that “we know for sure people who wreak havoc in our communities have to held accountable.”

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       Contee called the attack another example of “senseless gun violence” and praised community members for sending in tips and federal authorities for helping with the investigation and tracking suspects.

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