At an intersection known for loud summertime fireworks and youth hanging outside late at night, a loud staccato of bullet fire confused some, scared others and injured one young woman.

The shooting on Saturday night around 10:30pm at 5th and Allison St NW was witnessed by several people and heard by neighbors for blocks around. Reports tell of anywhere from 6 to 15 shots, and from witness accounts at the scene, the shooters used both a handgun and a rifle.

According to one witness, three juveniles (teens or possibly early 20s) were walking east bound on Allison toward 5th Street. There may have been words with people sitting on the porch of an Allison Street rowhouse. The three youth turned around at the corner of Allison, and while laughing, brought out weapons and opened fire at the house. A young woman who was on the porch was hit in the leg.

The shooters ran north on 5th Street, jumped in a black SUV and raced south on 5th.

"It's a nice neighborhood, but that house is a problem," one witness said to me. "I've lived here for years, and it's always loud and problematic. From what I understand, the house is owned by an older woman, and the grandkids pretty much run the place."

Another person told me that many young people hang out on the street in front of the house where the shots were targeted, sitting on the porch and on cars, at all hours. "At first I thought it was fireworks, with the sound of quick pops, but then I heard the rifle. As a hunter, that sound was unmistakable," he said.

"I don't walk my dog down that stretch of Allison," one man with a huge dog told me.

"I was sitting on my porch and saw the kids walk to the corner [of Allison and 5th], pull out a gun and start laughing with each other," a resident of Allison Street said to me. "Then one of them started shooting as they laughed." She said she first thought it was a toy cap gun because the sound was high and the muzzle sparked and the kids were laughing. Then the rifle opened up at the house, and it was louder, more intense.

MPD and EMS arrived pretty quickly, but no suspects were detained and no leads as of last night. The victim was taken alert and talking to the Washington Medical Center with a leg wound, accompanied by an MPD detective. MPD had police canines searching for bullet casings along Allison and 5th, and the Crime Scene Services division showed up to take photos.

This wasn't a random shooting, but who pulled the trigger and why remains to be answered.