They jacking grown men now? I say good riddance
An off-duty federal security officer on his way into work Saturday night fatally shot a 13-year-old boy who the officer said was one of two youths who tried to carjack him in the District’s Penn Quarter neighborhood, near public safety buildings and an entertainment complex, according to D.C. police.
Police said in a statement that the officer, waiting for his shift to start, was sitting in his personal vehicle in the 600 block of D Street NW, near the D.C. Superior Court building, when the two youths approached him shortly after 10 p.m. and demanded his vehicle.
The officer told investigators the youths demanded he get out of his vehicle, and that one of them “had his hand in his front waistband pocket as if he had a handgun,” according to a police report.
As the off-duty officer got out of his vehicle, police said he told investigators “he produced a handgun and shot one of the suspects.” The report says the youth was struck once in the chest. The other juvenile ran away. It was not immediately clear if the youth who was shot was the same youth who had his hand in his pocket.
Police said in a statement they have the officer’s gun in their possession but did not recover any other weapon. Police said the officer legally owned his firearm and is cooperating with the investigation.
Police identified the slain youth as Vernard Toney Jr., of Southeast Washington. A woman who identified herself as his grandmother, reached by phone on Sunday, declined to comment.
The officials said the officer has not been arrested and is cooperating with authorities. He was not identified, and further details about who he was working for were not divulged. Police officials had previously described the off-duty officer as a security guard, known as special police officers. They later said he was a federal security officer — a role that does not need special police designation.
Police said Sunday morning that the investigation is thus far preliminary. The officials said they are reviewing video from security cameras.
The shooting comes amid heightened concern over carjackings, which had soared 108 percent in the District this year, compared with the same period in 2022. As of Friday, police said there have been 821 carjackings in the city since January. Carjackings involving juveniles are also up this year.
In an incident last week, D.C. police said a 16-year-old girl driving a carjacked vehicle crashed into a utility pole in Northeast Washington and was killed. Police arrested a 15-year-old girl who police say was involved in the carjacking. The teen was previously in the custody of the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services because of robbery and theft charges, but the judge said she ordered the teen released because the agency had no available housing for her.
Violent crime in D.C. is up 41 percent this year, compared with this period in 2022, according to police statistics. Capital One Arena is several blocks north of where the youth was killed Saturday night, and the Washington Wizards played a home game there that started about three hours before the shooting. The area around 6th and D streets also includes the D.C. Court of Appeals and the D.C. police department’s headquarters.
An off-duty federal security officer on his way into work Saturday night fatally shot a 13-year-old boy who the officer said was one of two youths who tried to carjack him in the District’s Penn Quarter neighborhood, near public safety buildings and an entertainment complex, according to D.C. police.
Police said in a statement that the officer, waiting for his shift to start, was sitting in his personal vehicle in the 600 block of D Street NW, near the D.C. Superior Court building, when the two youths approached him shortly after 10 p.m. and demanded his vehicle.
The officer told investigators the youths demanded he get out of his vehicle, and that one of them “had his hand in his front waistband pocket as if he had a handgun,” according to a police report.
As the off-duty officer got out of his vehicle, police said he told investigators “he produced a handgun and shot one of the suspects.” The report says the youth was struck once in the chest. The other juvenile ran away. It was not immediately clear if the youth who was shot was the same youth who had his hand in his pocket.
Police said in a statement they have the officer’s gun in their possession but did not recover any other weapon. Police said the officer legally owned his firearm and is cooperating with the investigation.
Police identified the slain youth as Vernard Toney Jr., of Southeast Washington. A woman who identified herself as his grandmother, reached by phone on Sunday, declined to comment.
The officials said the officer has not been arrested and is cooperating with authorities. He was not identified, and further details about who he was working for were not divulged. Police officials had previously described the off-duty officer as a security guard, known as special police officers. They later said he was a federal security officer — a role that does not need special police designation.
Police said Sunday morning that the investigation is thus far preliminary. The officials said they are reviewing video from security cameras.
The shooting comes amid heightened concern over carjackings, which had soared 108 percent in the District this year, compared with the same period in 2022. As of Friday, police said there have been 821 carjackings in the city since January. Carjackings involving juveniles are also up this year.
In an incident last week, D.C. police said a 16-year-old girl driving a carjacked vehicle crashed into a utility pole in Northeast Washington and was killed. Police arrested a 15-year-old girl who police say was involved in the carjacking. The teen was previously in the custody of the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services because of robbery and theft charges, but the judge said she ordered the teen released because the agency had no available housing for her.
Violent crime in D.C. is up 41 percent this year, compared with this period in 2022, according to police statistics. Capital One Arena is several blocks north of where the youth was killed Saturday night, and the Washington Wizards played a home game there that started about three hours before the shooting. The area around 6th and D streets also includes the D.C. Court of Appeals and the D.C. police department’s headquarters.
