Karon Blake shooting: Here’s what to know about the shooting of a 13-year-old DC resident
Rachel Schilke
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Washington, D.C., residents are frustrated after 13-year-old Karon Blake was shot and killed Saturday and police officers said they have not arrested the suspect.
Here’s what police have said about the shooting that has rattled the D.C. community and brought forward calls for justice from politicians and community members across the district.
Details of the shooting
Blake was shot multiple times just before 4 a.m. in the 1000 block of Quincy Street, NE, after a man allegedly saw the 13-year-old breaking into cars on the street, police confirmed at a news conference Tuesday. Officers said there was no indication that Blake was armed.
Officers arrived at the scene, where they found Blake on the sidewalk, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The man who fired the shots called 911 after the shooting occurred, police said, and the shooter gave CPR to Blake while waiting for police to arrive.
No charges have been filed against the man who shot Blake. The name of the shooter has also not yet been released, much to the dismay and anger of D.C. community members.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee said names of suspects are typically not released until an arrest warrant is issued.
“I can tell you that the person is an African American person. I can tell you it is an adult, and I can tell you it is a male,” Contee said.
Contee added that the shooter is “not law enforcement.” He is currently represented by counsel in this case, the chief said.
Part of the investigation will be to determine if the shooting was justifiable, Contee said. Justice will be ultimately determined through a grand jury in D.C., the chief said.
https://twitter.com/dcpolicedept/status/1429972552584151043?lang=en
Blake’s only prior interaction with police was when he was filed as a missing person on Aug. 23, 2021.
Community and politicians react to Blake’s death
The D.C. community has been vocal on social media and at community town halls over a perceived lack of transparency and accountability in the shooting of the 13-year-old.
One neighbor told ABC 7 News on the day of the shooting that they were saddened to hear about Blake’s death, stating that it is a growing trend of “other young people that’s getting into crime.”
“Life is very short, and when you hear of a child who is 13 years old dying over trying to take somebody’s car or trying to break into somebody’s car, it’s very, very sad. He didn’t even have a chance to finish school,” the neighbor said, who did not want to provide his name. “It’s very, very sad that we live in a world that’s just been taken over by people that have guns, and young people are just breaking into cars.”
“This is coming so close to home now in this neighborhood, where we never had this going on at all,” the neighbor added.
At a town hall held on Tuesday, community members and neighbors expressed their frustration. Multiple people spoke to law enforcement officers present at the meeting, asking why the name of the shooter has not been released.
One resident said she did not understand how releasing the name of the shooter would “breach the investigation.”
“Knowing who the killer is is not breaching an investigation, it’s giving the community what they need to be at peace that the person has been apprehended,” she said. “So don’t use the community as a reason to change the narrative on how you do your investigation, because if you come correct in the beginning, we don’t have to wait this long to find out who’s done the murder. Because this is, in fact, a murder.”
Several politicians have also released statements condemning the shooting. Councilmember Zachary Parker, who was at the town hall meeting, said in a statement that he filed a request to see officer body camera footage.
“Tonight was unfiltered and unvarnished because people are hurting,” Parker said on Tuesday in a tweet. “I will continue standing with the Blake family and Ward 5 community. I will continue showing up — even during difficult times and conversations.”
https://twitter.com/cmzparker5/status/1613008752528998401?s=46&t=x1ulGOAM4sD4AqH17OKEwA
Family and friends comment on Blake’s death
The principal of Brookland Middle School — where Blake attended school — wrote a letter to parents expressing the school’s grief at the news of Blake’s death.
”Sending love and support to their family as they grieve this devastating loss,” the letter read, per ABC 7. “As a member of the Brookland family, we know our student will be missed by all who know them.”
Blake’s grandfather said the man who shot and killed his grandson should be put in jail.
“To be honest, when they told me it happened Saturday and the guy wasn’t arrested, I said, ‘Whoa, why not?'” Blake’s grandfather said. “It can’t bring my grandson back, but it would bring a little comfort to the family. This can’t go unsolved.”
He added that the incident should “never have happened.”
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“You don’t need to shoot him. And then you shot more than once. That doesn’t make sense,” Blake’s grandfather said. “How are you going to shoot someone more than once? An unarmed, young black man, a child, and you shoot him three or four times. For what?”