By Harshit, September 28, 2025 | Washington, DC | 9:00 AM EDT
Under dim Capitol Hill streetlights on September 20, Gary Dziekan — known to friends as “Zeek” — was walking home from an Oktoberfest party he co-hosted just five blocks away. Dressed in lederhosen, the off-duty DC firefighter crossed 8th Street Northeast, steps from his rowhouse where his wife and two young sons were asleep. Suddenly, footsteps pounded behind him.
Turning around, Zeek faced a masked man aiming a gun at him. The attempted robbery quickly turned violent, ending with Zeek shot in the chest and shoulder. Bleeding on the pavement, he dialed 911 — but his call went unanswered for three minutes. Desperate, he phoned his own firehouse instead, pleading for help.
The unanswered call has once again placed DC’s troubled 911 system under harsh scrutiny. The city’s Office of Unified Communications (OUC), responsible for emergency dispatch, has faced longstanding criticism over staffing shortages, slow responses, and critical mistakes.
The attack near his home
The armed robber demanded Zeek’s phone and belongings. After failing to access his digital wallet, the gunman shoved the weapon against Zeek’s chest.
“He was gonna kill me,” Zeek later recalled. “100% going to shoot me in the chest, right there, just a few feet from my door.”
Acting instinctively, Zeek twisted the barrel aside, sparking a struggle. The gun fired, striking through the robber’s hand and into Zeek’s chest and shoulder. The assailant fled, dropping the weapon, bag, and phone.
Collapsed on the street, Zeek tore open his costume to press on the wound with his shirt. He dialed 911, but the line rang endlessly. Moments later, the attacker’s footsteps returned. Fearing for his life, Zeek grabbed the dropped gun, reloaded, and fired at the man rushing toward him, forcing him to flee for good.
Calling his own firehouse
A neighbor rushed outside, offering to call 911. Instead, Zeek instructed him to phone Engine 18 Truck 7 — his own fire station just six blocks away.
“It’s Zeek. I’ve been shot and I need help. I’m at 8th and C Northeast,” his voice cracked over the line.
Within minutes, firetrucks and police cars swarmed the quiet residential street. Medics — some of them Zeek’s colleagues — treated him and rushed him to the hospital. Two days later, he returned home with bullet fragments still lodged in his shoulder. Doctors warned removal was too risky but said he was fortunate the injury wasn’t worse.
Failures at DC’s 911 center
OUC acknowledged that more than 20 calls flooded 911 in the minutes after the shooting, briefly overwhelming dispatchers. Zeek’s phone log shows he dialed 911 at 10:10 p.m. and hung up after three minutes without an answer. The first related call that OUC answered came in just after 10:11 p.m., according to officials.
The agency defended its response, citing heavy call volume and limited staff. Night shifts require at least 17 call takers, but only 16 were on duty that night — six of them working overtime.
“We recognize that during incidents which create an increase in call volume, some callers are placed in queue while call takers gather pertinent information and provide lifesaving direction to other callers,” OUC Director Heather McGaffin said in a statement.
Broader context
The shooting occurred as DC crime rates have reportedly fallen since the Trump administration ordered a federal law enforcement surge in August, deploying National Guard and other agencies across the city. Yet on that night, Zeek was alone — unprotected by federal patrols and unsupported by 911.
Looking back, the firefighter said he never spoke to anyone on the emergency line.
“I’ve always had this idea in the back of my head that if something went wrong, I knew if I called the firehouse, I would get service faster than 911,” he said. “But I didn’t think I’d ever actually be in this position.”
The incident has reignited debate over the reliability of DC’s emergency response system. For Zeek, the ordeal underscored a painful reality: even first responders can be left waiting when help is needed most.
