WASHINGTON — Two months after a father who was walking his two children was fatally shot in Northeast D.C., police have arrested the man they say fired the gun.
The Metropolitan Police Department identified the man arrested as Jarrell David Harris, 27, of Southeast D.C.
According to Metropolitan Police Department, the shooting happened on March 4 around 8:30 a.m. on the 2300 Block of 18th Street in Northeast D.C.
Investigators say a man — identified as Sedrick Miller, 42, of Northeast D.C. — was walking with his two children, carrying his infant in a car seat and holding the hand of his 5-year-old child.
Officers arrived at the scene and found Miller showing no signs of life and appeared to be suffering from gunshot wounds.
Miller was quickly taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and shortly after, he was declared dead by officials.
Police released a photo shortly after the fatal shooting showing Harris who was identified as a suspect wanted in connection with Miller's death.
According to court documents, 13 cartridge casings from a 9 mm handgun were found by Miller's body. Police also discovered a green satchel that contained Miller's ID card and a Taurus handgun which had one round in the chamber and six rounds in the 12-round capacity magazine.
According to the documents, a plastic container with multiple zip lock bags of suspected narcotics was found in Miller's sock. Additionally, a bag of suspected marijuana, a plastic bag with small bags of suspected narcotics, a wallet and a lighter were found in Miller's left jacket pocket.
The autopsy found that Miller was shot 11 times, five of which were in his torso, four were in the face and neck, one was in his upper right extremity and one was in his upper left extremity.
Police noted that Miller's two children witnessed the death of their father.
Detectives interviewed witnesses and found that Miller was taking his children to school with Witness 1. At the time of the incident, Miller was holding one of his child's hands and holding the other child in a car seat in his other hand at the time of the incident.
The two men, Harris and Miller, allegedly exchanged words before the shooting took place, according to the documents.
A third witness claimed that they heard gunshots from inside a home and then saw Harris fire multiple gunshots from a second-floor window, the document reveals.
The documents reveal that Miller and Harris knew each other. The two met in prison and were friends but had not gotten along for years.
After two months of searching for Miller, police say members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force obtained a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant and took Harris into custody on May 6.
He was taken to MPD's Homicide Branch, where he was charged with first-degree murder while armed.
People who live in the neighborhood where Miller was fatally shot say they are relieved Harris was arrested and charged.
One resident, Roberta Lovatelli who has lived in the Northeast D.C. neighborhood for 9 months, told WUSA9 the city has become synonymous with crime.
“It's become dangerous again,” she said.
Lovatelli, who spent more than two decades living in Capitol Hill, said she was shocked to hear about the father who was gunned down in front of his children.
“It's shocking because imagine these kids; they're scarred for life. There are too many guns, it's just too many. It's so easy to get a gun,” she said.
Other residents noted that typically the neighborhood is relatively quiet.
“If this man is not safe but his own kids, none of us are. We live in a world now that's so dangerous,” a man who goes by "Mr. G" told WUSA9.
Lovatelli said she’s more at ease knowing Harris is off the streets.
“I hope they don't release [him] as fast as they release other people,” she said.