WASHINGTON — A D.C. teenager has died following a shooting Friday night near the high school he attended. KIPP DC College Preparatory announced Tuesday that senior Larelle Washington had passed away from his injuries.
DC Police responded to a shooting around 3:45 p.m. Friday in the 1700 block of Capitol Avenue, Northeast in the Trinidad neighborhood. The school later confirmed that the shooting involved one of their students.
"We are heartbroken to share that KIPP DC College Preparatory senior Larelle Washington has passed away after a senseless act of gun violence," the school posted on Facebook. "... Larelle was a remarkable young man that cared deeply about his friends, teachers, and family. Over his four years at KCP, he grew tremendously, forming strong relationships with teachers and students alike. In an easy-going and kind manner, he always took time out of his day to check in on others. He will be deeply missed by the whole KIPP DC community."
The shooting is the second act of violence involving a KIPP DC student in four months. In late August, a ninth-grade student died on his third day back to school, after he was stabbed by a fellow classmate outside the school. Authorities identified the stabbing victim as 15-year-old Kemon Payne of Southeast, D.C.
Prosecutors later charged a 16-year-old classmate of Kemon's with second-degree murder while armed.
"I think that’s what the focus really should [be], what do we do to help our young people in this city resolve conflict peacefully without resulting to the use of knife or gun or violence either," DC Police Chief Robert Contee said after the stabbing. "Whatever comes of this, I’m sure, whatever the underlying issue, it’s not going to be something a 15-year-old kid should have lost his life over today at the conclusion of school.”
So far this year, there have been 210 homicides in the district, an 11% increase from 2020. Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie said it’s time for all city and faith leaders to treat gun violence like the public health crisis it is.
“We also need resources from other agencies," McDuffie said. "To play a part, we need to flood communities with opportunity, because in many cases to see same communities where we're seeing gun violence, that have really a lack of hope, what they want all the resources to flow to these communities to keep people safe to keep our young people safe."
At this time, no suspects or motives have been given in this case. MPD currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for each homicide committed in the District of Columbia. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.