WASHINGTON — Hundreds of people gathered in Northeast D.C. to discuss the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Karon Blake.
A man living in the Brookland neighborhood shot Blake Saturday morning after he allegedly saw him tampering with cars, according to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The man has yet to be identified or charged in the case.
Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker organized a listening session at Turkey Thicket Recreational Center, off Michigan Avenue Northeast, to field residents’ questions.
MPD Assistant Chief Morgan Kane joined him too.
“Our office has fielded many questions, calls, emails, and concerns,” Parker said.
One person with questions was Blake’s grandfather Sean Long.
“I didn’t know you could get a gun permit and shoot someone for messing with a car,” he said.
Long also questioned why police did not arrest the shooter at the scene of the shooting.
“I’m Black, if I were to kill a White boy on that street, they would’ve put me under the jail,” he said.
Others in the crowd questioned why the shooter had not been identified.
“I don’t know why y’all are protecting his name and saying it’s going to breach the investigation,” one woman questioned.
However, MPD Assistant Chief Morgan Kane said the department did not want to jeopardize its investigation, especially before it went to the courts.
“We’re not releasing the name at this time, because this is an active criminal investigation,” she said. “If there were circumstances where we needed the public’s help to identify the individual, then, of course, we’d absolutely put pictures out.”
Days after a 13-year-old boy was shot to death in D.C, Chief Contee held a press conference regarding what he calls misinformation surrounding the case.
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