In the early evening of December 8, 2016, police were called to a residence in the 600 block of Nicholson Street in Northeast Washington, D.C., for a report of an unconscious person. Inside the home, they discovered 26-year-old Victor Bolden, a male resident of Northeast, D.C., suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency medical personnel found no signs of life, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The subsequent investigation revealed that the shooting occurred during an armed home invasion. According to charging documents, Bolden was targeted for drugs and money kept in the residence. For years, the case remained open, a source of ongoing pain for his family.
Justice for the elder Victor Bolden would be slow, but not forgotten. In November 2019, nearly three years after the fatal shooting, an arrest was made. Members of the Major Violator Section's Fugitive Unit apprehended 28-year-old Jahmar Thaxter, also of Northeast, D.C. Thaxter was charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with Bolden's death. At the time the warrant was served, Thaxter was already incarcerated, serving a ten-year sentence for a separate violent crime.
Tragically, the cycle of violence would visit the Bolden family again. On the night of Saturday, June 1, 2024, another Victor Bolden, the 15-year-old son of the 2016 homicide victim, was shot and killed. The incident occurred around 10:34 p.m. in the 600 block of 18th Street, NE. Police responded to reports of a shooting and found the teenager with a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The younger Victor was a student at Coolidge High School who enjoyed football, boxing, and video games. He was also an aspiring entrepreneur, developing a clothing line with the poignant motto, 'too young to die,' a project he started after some of his peers also lost their lives to violence.
The death of the 15-year-old, known affectionately as 'little Tony,' has left his family devastated, grappling with a second, profound loss. His uncle, who had stepped in as a father figure after the boy's own father was killed, described his nephew as a good kid who had been improving his grades and was looking forward to his future. The Metropolitan Police Department has asked for the public's assistance in gathering information regarding the shooting. As of now, there have been no arrests made in connection with the death of the younger Victor Bolden, and no suspects have been publicly identified. The investigation remains ongoing as his family once again navigates the grief of a life cut short by gunfire.
