The man who fatally shot 13-year-old Karon Blake early Saturday, in a case that has outraged some in the community, is a Washington, DC employee, the mayor said Wednesday.
The Metropolitan Police said the shooter killed Karon, a high school student, shortly before 4am after the shooter believed someone was tampering with the vehicles and left his home with a registered firearm to investigate.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday that the person who shot Karon is a district government employee who is not involved in public safety.
Bowser did not name the agency. She said the person is on administrative leave, which is standard any time a city employee is charged or criminally charged.
«It’s a horrible situation,» Bowser said. “We have a 13-year-old boy who died and we don’t have all the facts. And the people responsible for gathering the facts and making prosecution decisions are doing it as quickly as possible.»
The person has not been publicly identified or charged.
Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said Tuesday that the case is under active investigation and that police are working closely with the US Attorney’s office on possible charges. He said the case would go to a grand jury.
Police has said that after the man left the residence to investigate possible tampering with the vehicle, «there was an interaction between a minor and the male resident» and the man fired the gun, striking Karon.
At a community meeting on Tuesday, the boy’s family members said they want justice and other residents called for the man to be detained.
Contee tried Tuesday to dispel what he said was misinformation circulating online, especially posts with images of innocent, uninvolved people.
“People are making accusations focused on race, and that’s wrong,” Contee said.
Karon was black. The man who shot him is black and has a concealed carry license and a registered firearm, Contee said. He is not a current or former law enforcement officer, Contee said.
The man called 911 and was performing CPR when officers arrived, Contee said.
Contee said Tuesday that for shootings to be justified, people must fear for their lives or the lives of others.
“Those are the facts we have to look at to find out, hey, did that happen? And based on the information that we have, present that information to a grand jury to see if that’s reasonable,” she said.