One person was killed and three others wounded Friday night in a flurry of gunfire in the neighborhood just east of Capitol Hill, according to police.

       The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. near 17th Street and Independence Avenue SE, and left cartridges strewn about, according to police and witnesses.

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       The shooting came amid widespread concern about an upsurge in gun violence in the District.

       No information about the circumstances was available.

       However, at least one long gun was apparently used, police said. They said they were looking for an automobile with three people in it. They said it had a loud exhaust.

       Denise Krepp, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in the area, said a neighbor told her of watching rescue personnel try in vain to help one of the victims. She urged the D.C. Council and other officials to do more.

       Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) called for those behind the shootings “to be held accountable.”

       The neighborhood is known as Hill East, and is characterized by residential streets lined with rowhouses. It is about a mile and a half east of the Capitol.