In the early morning hours of January 3, 2015, the life of 35-year-old Rahji Jerod Ross, a Black male from Southeast Washington, D.C., was tragically cut short. Just before 4 a.m., in the 2700 block of Bruce Place SE near the Anacostia Community Museum, Ross was the victim of a fatal shooting, an event that marked the city's first homicide of the new year.
He was discovered suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and, despite being conscious when police first arrived, he succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital.
The investigation into the death of Rahji Ross revealed a harrowing sequence of events. He had been a passenger in a car that was carjacked by two assailants. During the carjacking, a struggle ensued, and Ross was shot multiple times. A neighbor in the Woodland Terrace area reported hearing at least seven gunshots and later overheard a companion of Ross saying, 'They were trying to rob us.' This violent encounter left a family and a community reeling from the sudden and senseless loss.
In the wake of the shooting, the Metropolitan Police Department launched a homicide investigation and appealed to the public for assistance. They were in search of two suspects described as Black males who were wearing all black clothing and masks at the time of the incident. Despite these descriptions and a reward of up to $25,000 being offered for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible, the case has remained unsolved. No arrests have been made in the death of Rahji Ross, leaving his loved ones without closure and his killers still at large. His father remembers him as a man who, despite some difficult years in his youth, had turned his life around, was working two jobs, and was dedicated to providing for his children.
