A man was shot on Interstate 395 in the 3rd Street Tunnel Tuesday afternoon, D.C. police said, closing the northbound lanes for three hours during the height of rush hour.

The victim was shot after a crash in the northbound lanes near the Massachusetts Avenue exit shortly before 3 p.m.

“What we think happened right now, this is preliminary, but there was some kind of a traffic accident followed by a traffic dispute,” Police Chief Peter Newsham said. “It looks like the suspect shot into one of the vehicles, and we have an adult male who was taken to a local hospital. He’s in critical condition.”

The victim was conscious and breathing when he was taken to a hospital, but he had life-threatening injuries.

“I make that this was unnecessary,” D.C. police Cmdr. Morgan Kane said. “This is truly tragic that a simple accident, vehicle accident — it’s an accident — can escalate into a shooting. So that to me is very sad, it’s heart-wrenching and it’s very unnecessary.”

Police are looking for a dark-colored, four-door sedan with damage to its rear that was last seen heading toward Massachusetts Avenue. A man and woman were inside, and the woman is believed to be the driver.

Metropolitan Police Department

Northbound I-395 reopened about 6 p.m.