Jalen Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr. arrested in D.C drive by shooting of congressional intern, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, who was on his way to pick up a snack. Victim was a rising political star.
Two 17-year-old boys have charged with murder connection to the shooting death of a young Congressional staffer who was caught in gunfire in Washington D.C earlier this summer.
Jalen Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr. are being charged as adults in the slaying of congressional aide Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro announced Friday.
Congressional aide killed in drive by shooting amid ongoing violent crime in D.C area
Pirro said both teens have violent crimes on their records, and added that there is an unnamed third suspect who has not yet been arrested, WUSA9 reported.
Jachym, a 21-year-old who served as an intern for Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.), when the ‘innocent’ man was shot and killed on June 30 in a drive-by shooting around 10:30 at night on June 30.
The Massachusetts native, who dreamed of a future in politics, was on his way to grab a late-night snack at McDonald’s when the gunmen opened fire and struck the 21 year old. The next day, the aide died from his injuries in the hospital.
Pirro said that investigators do not believe the young intern was the target, and said Jachym was caught in the middle of an ongoing ‘dispute’ between rival gangs in DC, Politico reported.
A 16-year-old boy and a woman were also injured in the shooting, with the shooters leaving a 9mm pistol and 79 rounds at the scene.
Tarpinian-Jachym was murdered at an intersection with a Metro station just off the Washington Convention Center. The neighborhood has pockets of public housing associated with higher rates of violent crime.
Police said that hundreds of hours of surveillance camera footage were reviewed to identify the suspects.
Pirro said that the case was being prosecuted under DC law, rather than federal law, meaning the two suspects are not eligible for the death penalty.
Arrests come amid push for federal takeover of D.C
A rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Tarpinian-Jachym was majoring in finance with a minor in political science. The 21 year old was a Springfield native and alumnus of Pope Francis Preparatory School.
Tarpinian-Jachym’s death became a flashpoint in DC in recent weeks as President Trump deployed National Guard troops to the nation’s capital, claiming it is overran with violent crime.
Tarpinian-Jachym’s mother Tamara said she was distraught by the random act of violence that took her son’s life.
‘My son had a false sense of security that time of night in that area,’ she said. ‘It happened a mile away from the White House.
‘Eric took the bullet for a 16-year-old. He was an innocent bystander. I think America needs to know that they’re not safe in D.C. My son paid the ultimate price.’
Friend Phillip Peterson told Fox5DC that he will remember Tarpinian-Jachym as a kind and intelligent person who did not deserve his fate.
‘Eric was a good, smart Republican,’ he said.
‘Quite frankly, somebody in Congress should introduce a bill called the Eric Jachym Act that works on increasing police support in D.C, and Congress can do that.’
Pirro, during Friday’s announcement was also joined by D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith and Mayor Muriel Bowser, among other officials, who cited the tragedy as justification for President Donald Trump’s federal takeover and surge of law enforcement in the nation’s capital to crack down on crime.
Reiterated the victim’s mother, ‘This is not a political issue. It is a safety issue. If it happened to my son it could happen to anyone. We need to have more police officers at night on the streets. This is a problem in the nation’s capital. It should be the safest place in America.’
The ongoing federal crime crackdown has seized nearly 200 illegal guns, according to White House data.
