On a late Tuesday evening in Silver Spring, Maryland, 17-year-old Jaril Verde Murillo was walking with two friends along a path near the Foxhall Apartments. It was around 11:30 p.m. on August 19, 2025, when, without warning, an unknown assailant opened fire in their direction. As the trio scattered and fled, Murillo was struck by the gunfire. He collapsed in the roadway on University Boulevard East.
Montgomery County Police and Fire and Rescue services responded to reports of shots fired
and a person down. Upon arrival, they found Jaril Verde Murillo suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite life-saving measures attempted at the scene, the teenager was pronounced dead. The two friends who were with him were not physically injured in the attack. An autopsy later confirmed that Murillo's death was a homicide caused by a gunshot wound. Initially, police had no suspect information and no arrests had been made.
The investigation into the seemingly random act of violence continued for weeks. A breakthrough came following another shooting on Friday, September 5, in Long Branch Local Park, which resulted in the death of another 17-year-old and critically injured a 21-year-old man. Evidence gathered at the scene of the park shooting led detectives to believe it was connected to Murillo's murder.
This connection led investigators to execute a search warrant at a Silver Spring residence on 11th Avenue on Saturday, September 6. The SWAT-assisted raid resulted in the arrests of 20-year-old Jhony Steve Rosales Castillo and 18-year-old Juan Carlos Gutierrez-Hernandez. Inside the residence, police discovered firearms and other evidence that linked the two men to both the Long Branch Park shooting and the murder of Jaril Verde Murillo. Both suspects were taken into custody and charged with two counts of first-degree murder of a minor victim and one count of attempted first-degree murder, among other firearms-related charges.
