Eyewitness Describes Night of Terror in Non-Fatal Shooting

By Rohan Naval , Audrey Staudacher - March 7, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On March 6, the trial of a non-fatal shooting case resumed before DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan, as parties rested their cases. 

Kamara Hoffler, 32, is charged with assault with intent to kill, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, and multiple unlawful possession of a firearm charges, for his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting. The incident occurred on Sept. 19, 2022, on the 800 block of Barnaby Street, SE. One individual sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the incident.

According to court documents, Hoffler and another individual allegedly tried to enter an apartment that was not their own. As a result of this disturbance, a physical altercation occurred with a resident of the apartment. The altercation escalated into a shootout, in which the resident suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound to his knee. No other injuries were reported.

Hoffler’s defense attorneys, Jamison Koehler and Karen Minor, called Hoffler’s girlfriend, an eyewitness to the shooting, to the stand.

The witness testified that, on the night of the incident, she and Hoffler intended to go to a friend’s apartment. According to the witness, the friend was at work, but told them that his girlfriend would let them into the apartment and host them until he arrived.

When Hoffler and the witness had arrived at the apartment and no one answered, they allegedly called the friend who informed them the girlfriend must be sleeping. He allegedly instructed them to “knock harder, knock louder,” to wake her up.

According to the witness, they continued to knock until the victim arrived at the apartment building.  He allegedly shouted, “Get the f**k away from my door,” and “You b****s are going to die tonight.”

The witness testified she tried to explain that they must be in the wrong place, but was ignored as the victim retrieved his firearm from his apartment and brandished it at Hoffler. The victim then allegedly pushed Hoffler and the witness out of the apartment and continued to shout at them.

“I was scared at this point,” the witness said. “I was trying to walk away. I didn’t know what to do. I really thought I was about to die.”

On cross examination, the prosecutors replayed the video surveillance footage of the parking lot when the shooting occurred, during which the eyewitness was crouched behind a car.

The prosecution pointed out that Hoffler was allegedly the first one to fire, and the victim was no longer brandishing his weapon as he had allegedly done inside the apartment building.

The witness said she did not recall the events in the parking lot because she was “a little intoxicated” at the time of the shooting.

Further, the witness admitted neither she nor Hoffler ever reported the incident to the police.

Following the eyewitness’ testimony, Koehler and Minor called a Criminal Justice Act (CJA) investigator to the stand. 

He verified that the apartment next door to the victim’s was leased to the individual Hoffler and the eyewitness intended to meet.

The prosecution presented evidence that shell casings found in the parking lot were consistent with the gun owned by the victim, but he was licensed to carry a firearm. It’s alleged he fired fewer shots than Hoffler.

A DNA specialist analyzed material from a cigarette butt found at the scene and concluded there was a high probability the sample came from Hoffler.

Parties rested their case and are slated to return March 7 for closing arguments.