Police investigate shooting death of 13-year-old (black) car burglar as "activists" scream "racism" at black homeowner

Police investigate shooting death of 13-year-old (black) car burglar as “activists” scream “racism” at black homeowner

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WASHINGTON, DC – A 13-year-old teenager in our nation’s capital has been shot and killed while allegedly breaking into cars in the early morning hours of January 7th.

While the community and family mourns the death of the young teenager and try to come to grips with what happened, others are trying to make it into a race issue.

The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. received a report of a shooting around 4 a.m. in the early morning hours of January 7th. When officers responded to the scene in the 1000 block of Quincy Street, they located a man performing CPR on the teenager who had been shot.

Medical responders arrived and transported the teenager, Karon Blake, to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. As investigators worked to find out what happened, they learned the alleged shooter was the person whom they found performing CPR on Blake.

Detectives working the case then learned the alleged shooter, who has not been identified at this time, heard noises coming from the street and believed someone was messing with the vehicles outside. When the man exited his residence, he saw “someone that appeared to be tampering with vehicles.”

Detectives reported the man retrieved a registered firearm and confronted who turned out to be Blake at one of the vehicles. The man alleges that he and Blake got into what police term as an “interaction” which led to the man firing the weapon and striking him.

As police worked a timeline of the case, they learned of “two juvenile males” that were seen in the area of the shooting and that two vehicles on the block had been damaged. They also located a stolen vehicle nearby which they believe had been used by Blake before the shooting. Police have not mentioned as of yet why they have that belief.

https://fundourpolice.com/

At a news conference, Police Chief Robert Contee, III spoke about the incident in which Blake, a black male, was shot and killed. Chief Contee was forced to announce the shooter’s race, not because he was still at large or police needed help in identifying him, but because people who heard of the incident automatically assumed the shooter was white.

Chief Contee told the media that the shooter was black and that he had not been publicly identified as of yet since the investigation is ongoing. The Chief also reported that the shooter has retained legal counsel and is seemingly cooperating with the investigation.

The Chief said that the investigation is ongoing and when it is completed it will be presented to a grand jury to decide if the shooting was justified or a case of murder. He also pointed out what should be the obvious:

“A grand jury will determine if a crime occurred based on facts and not mere speculation.”

Sadly, Chief Contee had to make the comment about speculation because numerous people, according to him, have taken to social media to claim they had witnessed or heard of events that are not even connected to the case. Doing so does nothing but stoke fears of racially motivated bias to having others fear that the potential shooter is still at large. He said:

“People are making assumptions and searching for people that are not involved. People are making allegations centered around race – and that is wrong.”

What the police chief is trying to make everyone understand is that police investigations, especially the ones involving death, take time to do them properly. Releasing too much information to the media can taint the case in terms of future prosecution in ways that may make a person who has committed a crime walk free.

Additionally, if the police do not follow appropriate state and case law while investigating a case, any potential trial could be thrown out on a technicality, something no one would want if the shooter acted illegally. Chief Contee and everyone else knows how important a case like this is to Blake’s family, the shooter, and the community, but they want to make sure they do everything right.

On January 12th,  D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke to the media about the shooting and made the public aware that he is employed at the district. The mayor did not say which agency he worked for but Chief Contee noted that he is not and had not been in law enforcement.

Mayor Bowser did her best to assure the public and the growing outrage the area is seeing that the investigation is going as fast as it can be. She said:

“It’s a horrible situation. We have a 13-year-old that died, and we don’t have all of the facts. And the people who are responsible for gathering the facts and making charging decisions are doing it just as fast as possible.”

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About The Author

I am a proud husband to a wife who works in education and the father to two wonderful children. My first focus is on my family and spending time with them, my second is on my career. I am a current law enforcement lieutenant and have been an officer for over twenty years. Chris Elliot is a pen name for safety reasons.

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