Alexandria Police Department announced three juveniles have been charged for the Sept. 19, 2024, shooting on Wythe Street, an incident with three victims, including one who died.
“This crime was planned, deliberate, and it was violent,” APD Chief Tarrick McGuire said during a press conference. The three males, who at the time were ages 16 – 17, approached on foot and opened fire, he explained.
A 25-year-old man in what is believed to be the shooters’ “target area” was shot and killed. Another man, a 46-year-old, was shot while merely standing outside of his apartment using the phone, added APD Assistant Chief Raul Pedroso. The third victim, as previously reported, is a 15-year-old boy who was grazed.
Multiple firearms were used, and both shell casings and stolen guns were recovered as part of the evidence in the case, Pedroso noted.
Suspected in other cases
McGuire said there is a possibility the stolen firearms in this case have been used in other cases. ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Samuel Ward, was included in the press conference and explained how NIBN played an essential role in this case. That ballistics program uses the unique markings from spent bullet casings to allow authorities to connect crimes they may not have previously known about.
McGuire said these three juveniles were already in custody for other incidents when NIBN linked them to the Sept. 19 shooting. He added that, in addition to the Wythe Street case, these males are subjects in other ongoing investigations for “other violent actions.”
“The motive [for the Sept. 19 shooting] is still kind of evolving. What we do know, again, is it was a purposeful action,” said McGuire. We have evidence to support that they intended to do what they did, he added.
Charges
Each of the males is charged with murder by mob, malicious wounding by mob (x2), and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony (3x). All are in custody and are currently “at various jails locally,” McGuire confirmed.
This is an incident that left that community “torn and traumatized,” McGuire said. Officers in his department used “every available resource available to them to get this case solved.”
But “it’s not a proud moment” to stand up here and say three juveniles are being charged with murder, he said. In a public plea, he said, I’m asking everyone to ensure their firearms are properly secured so they don’t fall into the wrong hands.
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