2 teens charged with murder in connection with killing of UMass student in DC
A pair of 17-year-olds were arrested Friday morning and charged with murder in connection with the death of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym , of Granby, who was shot in Washington, D.C. in late June , officials announced.
Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, was killed on June 30 near 1200 7th St. NW in Washington, D.C., where he was working as an intern in the office of U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas.
On Friday, the two teenagers were arrested in the nation's capital and charged with murder in connection with the 21-year-old's death, who was not the intended target of the shooting, according to police.
Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro made the announcement at a Friday afternoon press conference.
She said the two teenagers, identified as Jalen Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr., would be charged as adults. Both had criminal records, Pirro said.
"This is a critical step toward justice," Pirro said, noting that investigators are still searching for a third suspect, also a teenager.
At around 10:30 p.m. on June 30, the suspects exited a car at the intersection of 7th and M streets and opened fire in the direction of two people riding bikes, said Kevin Kentish, the commander of the Criminal Investigations Division of the Metropolitan Police Department.
One, a 16-year-old, was injured.
But the gunfire also hit Tarpinian-Jachym and a woman in the area, killing the 21-year-old and wounding the woman. In all, 79 rounds were fired, Pirro said.
After the shooting, police say the suspects re-entered the vehicle, which was stolen in Maryland, and fled the scene. The vehicle was found abandoned in Maryland "shortly after" the killing.
"Detectives believe that the shooting was a result of an ongoing neighborhood crew dispute," Kentish said.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser praised the work of police investigators.
"Any level of gun violence in our city is unacceptable, and certainly someone just walking up the street in the evening on one of our DC streets should be safe in doing so," she said.
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