Statement: McDuffie on Recent Gun Violence

News Release — Ward 5 DC Council member Kenyan McDuffie

July 22, 2019

Contact: Jonathan McNair

Washington D.C. — On Friday evening, the bodies of Hugh Washington and his seventeen-year-old son, Ahkii Washington-Scruggs, were discovered inside their home in the 1100 block of Queen Street, NE. On Sunday morning, at approximately 8:00 AM, a person was shot in the 2200 block of Evart St, NE. On Sunday night, four people were shot in the 2300 block of 15th Street, NE, near a recreation center. Seven people shot—two fatally—in hardly more than two days.

”I extend my sincerest condolences to the family, friends, and community of Ahkii Washington-Scruggs and Hugh Washington. And, I am pulling for the victims of the shootings and hope that there are no additional lives lost.”

“I am outraged and saddened by the series of homicides and shootings that continue to wreak havoc on our communities. The violence in Ward 5 comes on the heels of other senseless acts of gun violence across the city in recent days, including the murder of 11-year-old Karon Brown.”

“We need the community to help bring the person(s) responsible for killing Ahkii and his dad to justice. I am calling on anyone with information about this heinous crime to contact the Metropolitan Police Department at 202-727-9099or submit information anonymously to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.”

“I am pleading with residents to stand up, speak out, and make the people who commit gun violence in our city agonize over the collective voice of our outrage.”

Thanks to multiple tips provided by the community, MPD has arrested a suspect connected to the homicide of Karon Brown.

The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000, per victim, to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a homicide committed in the District of Columbia.