WASHINGTON — A 29-year-old man was arrested Saturday after police say he is responsible for the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy.
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham and Mayor Bowser announced they arrested Tony Antoine McClam in the death of Karon Brown after a dispute on Thursday in Southeast. McClam was charged with Second Degree Murder While Armed.
Brown was involved in a fight with both adults and children in the 2700 block of Naylor Road around 7 p.m. that evening.
Sources said a Good Samaritan picked Brown up off the ground and put him inside a car. Shortly after, police said McClam, who was involved in the fight, ran to the car and opened fire on the vehicle.
McClam was seen in surveillance photos running shirtless toward the car carrying a gun. Police have not explicitly said whether Brown was the intended target in the shooting.
Brown was driven to a local fire department to seek help and later taken to a hospital in Prince George's County, where he was pronounced dead.
Bowser said community members and tipsters were extremely valuable in making the arrest.
The mayor asks residents to report illegal firearms in the District. "People who would be so brazen and callous have no regard for human life and have no regard for the innocence of childhood, cannot be allowed to have a gun in our streets."
A vigil for Brown will be held Tuesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. at Stanton Elementary playing fields at 2701 Naylor Rd., Southeast.
Those who knew Brown, say he, like many other kids, dreamed of growing up and one day playing in the NFL.
Police are continuing to investigate the motive for the shooting. Anyone with information should call police at 202-727-9099 or text 50411.